Now I See
by Nicholls
Summary: Loki had stopped trying to count how long he had been in the Void, it didn't seem to matter anymore. There was nothing but darkness, until he felt a light. It seemed like the soft blue light was calling to him, so he fell. He followed it to Midgard of all places, and to the human known as Tony Stark.
1. Now I See

**Now I See**

Loki soon regretted ever letting go of Gungnir. He could still see the faces of his supposed father and brother hanging over him. Thor's eyes were pleading and his face was awash with both worry and hope. Hope that maybe life could go back to being what it was like before his almost coronation. The Trickster only scoffed at that, realizing that was not possible, he was beyond hurt, and so he let go.

He fell from the broken Bi Frost and into the blackness. After a while he stopped trying to remember how much time had passed, it did not really matter anymore. There was absolutely nothing around him and it was driving him insane. It was if time existed but simultaneously did not exist. Nothing made sense. Then again, he was a Jotun raised to believe he was of Asgardian royalty. Loki grit his teeth, his true visage disgusted him, it was the face of a monster.

The God of Mischief had resigned himself to his fate when his body suddenly lurched downwards at an alarming speed. Everything rushed past him in a blur and Loki barely had time to register that he was indeed falling, before he crashed into the ground. Hard.

"HOLY SHIT!"

Oh look, he could hear again.

Loki tried to push himself to his feet, but soon found that he did not have the strength to even open his eyes to see where he was.

"Are you okay? Where in the hell did you come from buddy?"

There was that voice again.

The god clenched his teeth. "Where am I?"

The voice said nothing at first. "Malibu. California? The United States? Earth? Ring any bells there?"

Ah, Midgard, that explains the annoying voice in front of him.

"Midgard," Loki said softly. He had landed in the realm of humans.

"Mid- what?"

"Midgard," Loki snapped as he opened his eyes and struggled to sit up. "It's what you hum-" He stopped abruptly. There was nothing. Wait, that couldn't be right. He heard that voice, so there must be a body to go with it. So, where was it? Loki knew it had been a while since he's been to Midgard, but he knew that it still existed.

"Hey, buddy, I have to get you to a hospital." The voice said has he laid a hand on the god's shoulder.

Loki blinked rapidly.

He couldn't see.

He couldn't _SEE_.

"I can't see," Loki gasped.

Fear gripped his chest and refused to lessen its hold. It was like the void, absolute darkness.

He was blind.

"If you won't let me take to a hospital, at least let me get you out of the road before we both die." The Midgardian voice said.

Luckily, the god landed in the middle of the highway at three o'clock in the morning and there was no traffic to flatten him.

A motorcycle suddenly flew by and its driver shouted an expletive followed by the finger.

Okay, so maybe it wasn't _totally_ deserted.

Loki allowed the human to help him into his vehicle, all the while saying absolutely nothing. What could he say? _Hi, I'm the God of Mischief and I can't see, nice to meet you._ He cringed at the thought. Loki knew enough that it had been years since anyone has regarded his race as gods.

After a short ride, Loki felt the metal contraption slow to a halt. The human came around and opened the door to help him out.

_It's like I'm a child again,_ Loki thought bitterly.

"Home sweet home," the human said and showed his guest inside. "Jarvis, lights please."

"_Certainly, sir."_

Loki narrowed his eyes and whirled his head around. What sort of magic was this? He was not aware that humans possessed such talent.

"Whoa, whoa there!" The human said, and rushed to Loki's side. "That's Jarvis, my computer. He runs my house basically."

"_Indeed I do,"_ the robotic voice said a bit smugly. Can robots even sound smug?

Loki was still distrustful.

"Hey," the human said as he helped Loki settle into one of the recliners in his living room. "I never introduced myself. I'm Anthony Stark. But you can call me Tony."

"Tony?" Loki said slowly.

"You don't know me? Huh, you must not be from this planet," Stark joked.

Loki smirked. How right this human was.

"So what may I call the person who almost landed on the hood of my very expensive sports car?"

There was a pause.

"Loki."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Loki, are you deaf mortal?" The god said evenly.

Tony blinked, and then blinked again. _Loki… Loki… I've heard that name before…think Stark. All those years of stupid general education could be useful right about now._

Loki was growing bored and weary, but mostly weary. It had been a long time since he had last slept.

"Wait, you're telling me that you are the Norse god, Loki?" Tony said incredulously. "Because that is just not happening."

Loki smiled tiredly. "I assure you, that I am completely sane when I tell you that I am in fact that Loki."

Okay, so maybe not _completely_ sane.

Stark rubbed his temples. "So you're Loki. I'm gonna have to google you, because I don't think I remember anything from Freshman English class. Anyway, I'll help you to one of the many spare rooms."

Several things popped into Loki's mind, such as: "What does 'google' mean?" and "What in the nine realms is a 'Freshman'?

He allowed himself to be escorted to one of the spare rooms that Stark was talking about. The lack of sight was extremely annoying. He had to completely rely on the human to direct him. It was a weakness Loki was not accustomed to, and he did not welcome it.

"There you are," Stark said, as he helped Loki onto the nearby bed. "Get some rest, and I'll have a doctor check you out tomorrow."

Loki settled down onto the soft bed and Tony turned the lights off. He actually felt kind of stupid turning off the lights for a blind guy, but he pushed the thought aside.

"Just ask Jarvis if you need anything."

Loki nodded. "Thank you, Tony," he said quietly.

Stark smiled a bit and wished him a good night.

As soon as the human had left, Loki checked himself over for any serious injuries. There were a few bruises and perhaps a cracked bone or two, nothing life threatening at the moment. But it seemed that his magic had been drained, when he went to mend his bones his magic barely flickered. Loki frowned, the void was the most logical answer.

He sighed and closed his sightless eyes, and drifted off to sleep after what seemed like centuries.

* * *

Loki awoke to the heat of the sun on his face. Slowly lifting himself up, he carefully swung his legs over the side of the bed. He winced when he remembered just what had transpired a few hours ago.

_I fell to Midgard of all places, and was found by a human. An annoying one at that, _Loki thought to himself. He tried moving a bit more, but his battered body protested loudly. Nope, not doing that yet. _What_ _was the name of that computer Tony mentioned?_

"Jarvis?" He tried.

"_At your service Mr. Loki." _

Loki was a bit lost for words, what a shock.

"Where is Tony?" He asked after a beat.

"_He's currently in his workshop. Shall I fetch him for you?"_ Came the robotic British voice.

"If you would please."

"_Right away, sir."_

Loki decided to lie back down to avoid anymore unnecessary pain. He curled his hand into a fist and cursed his current state. Oh so far has he has fallen. The once proud Prince of Asgard, reduced to being helped by a mere mortal. But he wasn't a prince, not of Asgard anyway. He was a Frost Giant, the very monster that scared children into listening to their parents.

"_It's good to have you back. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to destroy Jotunheim!"_

"_I never wanted the throne, I only ever wanted to be your equal!"_

"_I could have done it, Father! I could have done it! For you! For all of us!"_

The god bit back a growl. He had tried to erase his "kind" from existence, maybe then he could forget what he was. All his life he had tried to gain his father's approval, only to be pushed aside for his older brother. And yet, despite his efforts, he was never rewarded. Now he understood why, why, Odin never seemed to care.

"_When I am king, I'll hunt the monsters down and slay them all! Just as you did, Father."_

Monster.

His brother's words rang through his mind, over and over again. Even though they had been uttered when Thor was but a child, they still hurt.

_Monster_.

Loki slammed his head back against the pillows, trying to push the sudden chill from his skin.

Of course Tony Stark chose that exact moment to dramatically walk through the bedroom door.

"Good morning, Sunshine!" He announced, then stopped dead in his tracks. "Uh, dude, you're blue."

Loki turned in the direction of the voice and widened his crimson eyes in surprise.

"Don't worry about it," Tony said dismissively. "We found this guy who had been frozen in ice for seventy years, he was pretty blue too."

"You are not afraid of me?" Loki said slowly. It was a new feeling. Tony had no idea what a Frost Giant was, but he still wasn't afraid.

_At least in this condition, I won't have to look at myself in this form._

Tony shrugged. "I'm used to freaky stuff."

"I see."

Tony paled. "Not that you're freaky!" He said quickly. "I like blue, blue is good. Though I prefer red and gold, but hey, that's me. Anyway, doctor, yes a doctor would be a good thing. Wait, since you're not human a doctor would be pointless, so scratch that. Are you in any pain? Of course you are. Um, you hungry? I am. I could go for some waffles or something. God, Tony stop talking."

Loki did not know that humans did not need air in order to talk. He was waiting for Tony to draw a breath somewhere during his tirade.

"Okay, you know what, let's start over."

Loki blinked.

Tony extended his hand in front of Loki. "My name is Tony Stark. This is the part where you take my hand."

The Jotun blue slowly began to recede as Loki mimicked Tony's movement, clasping the other's hand firmly after a bit of confusion as to where the human's hand actually was.

"I'm Loki," he said. "Laufeyson." He added after a thought. Odinson did not seem appropriate anymore, but then again, neither did Laufeyson. "No, forget that."

Tony raised an eyebrow and released his grip.

"Just, Loki."

The genius smirked. "Okay, Loki, nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Loki answered, and surprisingly he meant it.

"C'mon, I'll have Jarvis make us breakfast."

Tony helped Loki stand and walk down the hall. The god was still not used to his lack of sight. It was frustrating to say the least. Though, Tony was a great guide. He never ran into anything like he was expecting. Soon he found himself in a chair with the scent of something that smelled delicious wafting through the air.

It took a second after Tony had set a plate in front of him to become comfortable with eating. After a few tries, Loki got the hang of it, and was able to eat well enough.

"So did you really do it with a horse?"

Loki made a noise and almost choked on his food.

"I'd rather not discuss that with you," Loki muttered.

Tony laughed into his waffle. "All right, are any of the stories true?"

"Some."

"Which ones?"

Loki smiled. "That is a story for a different time."

"_Sir, Miss Potts is here."_

Tony jumped up. "Right on time."

Loki paid him no mind as he finished his breakfast. He did look up when he heard someone besides Tony walked into the kitchen.

"Oh, hello."

A woman's voice.

"Loki," Tony said as he came around to stand next to the god. "This is Pepper. Pepper, Loki."

"Is he the one that I brought clothes for then?" Pepper said as she reached into the bag she was holding.

"Yup, meet our resident Norse deity." Tony said proudly.

"Right. Well I hope these fit. Hopefully he's not too picky."

"I assure you Lady Potts, whatever you have is fine. I can't see it either way, so it really does not matter," Loki replied.

Pepper blushed. "I'm so sorry, I forgot."

"It's quite all right."

She handed a pair of dark gray jeans and a thin green hoodie from the bag and handed them to Tony.

"Can you stand up for a minute, Loki?" Pepper asked.

The Norse god nodded.

She held the jeans up to his waist and then the hoodie to his torso.

"I think it'll work," Pepper announced. "Am I great or what? Though you look to be a bit on the skinny side. Do you ever eat?"

Loki chuckled. His mother used to say the same thing to him. Sometimes he would lock himself in his chambers with his books and read for days. Frigga was always trying to get him to come out and eat once in a while, but he was too busy with his spell books.

_Frigga_.

What was she to him now? After all, she was the only one who paid any sort of attention to him growing up. Odin was always distant, and Thor was there, but he was busy with his friends most of the time. They were never his friends to begin with. But Frigga was always there and it occurred to him that she must have known, and yet she still loved him like he was really her own son. She showed him more affection than she did Thor.

"My mother would say the same thing, Lady Potts."

Loki finally settled the debate in his mind. Frigga is, and will always be his mother.

"She must be a wise woman," Pepper smiled.

Loki nodded. "She is. You remind me of her."

Tony groaned. "Don't tell her she reminds you of your mother, a Norse _god_. Now I'll have to pay her more."

Pepper smacked him lightly on the arm. "I do deserve a raise."

"Yes," Tony confessed. "yes you do."

* * *

A little while later, Loki was sitting in the gym listening to Tony and a man that had been introduced to him as Steve Rogers, spar. Actually Tony had said his name was "Capsicle" before the other man shoved him and told the god his real name.

The good captain reminded him of Thor, by what Tony described, blond hair and blue eyes and a love for fighting, but also his personality. Steve was kind and protective of his friends, much like his brother. And it seemed that both Steve and Thor commanded respect even though they didn't realize it.

Loki smiled sadly. He missed Thor. He supposes, like his mother, he still considers Thor his older brother. They had spent millennia together as such. The image of his brother's face as he fell from the bridge is seared into his brain. He wishes he could apologize, but the bridge is broken and his magic depleted. Unless Thor found an alternate way to Earth, he couldn't ever say those words to his brother.

"Hey there."

Loki just about jumped out of his seat.

"Clint," a female voice said icily.

"Sorry man, forgot. You know, about your, you know."

Loki stared wide eyed ahead at the direction he thought the voice was coming from.

"Loki," Tony said as he jogged over. "This idiot is Clint or Hawkeye."

He shook Clint's hand. "Why do they call you Hawkeye?"

Clint puffed out his chest. "Because I'm the best archer in the world, and I see better from a distance."

"Of course." Though that just reminded Loki of how he couldn't.

"Modest much?" A woman's voice said. "My name is Natasha."

Loki nodded. He felt overwhelmed by the number of people near him. "Loki," he replied.

"So you're the Norse god we've heard Stark ramble on about." Clint smirked.

"I do _not_ ramble!"

"Sure, sure," Clint admonished, before turning back to Loki. "So you're magic is gone?"

Loki played with the end of his sleeve awkwardly. "Not gone, just depleted. It will return in time."

"That's good. What will you do?" The archer asked.

"That is a good question."

Tony snorted. "You could always join our Super Secret Boy Band, plus Natasha."

Loki looked confused.

"Stark," Black Widow said in almost a growl. "That is classified."

Tony shrugged. "He's a god, who's he gonna tell? Like he actually cares."

It was true. Who would Loki tell?

"I will think about it," Loki said. "If you would excuse me, I'd like to rest a bit."

* * *

Two weeks had passed, and Loki's magic still had not returned. He was beginning to worry if it would return at all. Tony had reassured him that it would be all right, but the god was not convinced. The human knew nothing about magic, though he did know a great deal about science.

Loki mostly passed the time by sitting in Tony's workshop listening to him tinker with his machines. It was oddly calming.

He finally gathered enough courage to ask the mortal one question.

"What is that on your chest, Tony?"

Tony looked up, surprised. "Can you see now?" He asked happily.

Loki shook his head. "No, I felt its energy the first moment I met you."

There was silence.

"It's keeping me alive."

Loki cocked his head. "How so?"

Tony put down the screwdriver he was holding and sighed. "It's a long story."

"I have the time," Loki assured him.

"Well," Tony said, a hand running though his dark brown hair. "I used to be a weapons maker. They called me 'The Merchant of Death', awful nickname. When I went to Afghanistan to show off one of my new creations, I was blown up by one of my own bombs that had fallen into terrorists hands."

Loki listened, fascinated.

"I was held and tortured for months because when they found out who I really was, they wanted me to build them a weapon. I eventually broke out only to find out that the man who I thought was a father figure to me ordered the hit in the first place." Tony said bitterly. "The man I trusted for years betrayed and tried to have me killed. Maybe he was never the man I thought I knew."

Loki knew the feeling all too well.

"The shrapnel embedded in my heart is kept still by the arc reactor in my chest. It will hold the metal there so it doesn't shred my insides."

Without thinking, Loki brought his hand up and rested it on the device. Tony sucked in a breath and sat still. The god's long, pale fingers traced the cold, metal reactor and stopped. He could feel the energy radiating off of it.

"Impressive," Loki whispered.

Tony laughed. "I'll say."

"Thank you. I feel as if I owe you an explanation in return."

"Only if you want to."

Loki nodded. "It is only fair."

The engineer wasn't going to complain. How often does one hear a story from a Norse god? Exactly.

"I grew up in Asgard, one of the Nine Realms," the god started. "The man who I thought was my father stole me from another place when I was just a baby. I was under the impression that I was the Prince of Asgard, along with my older brother, Thor. But it was all a lie. He took me for a purpose, and claimed that he loved me, even though he loved my brother more."

Loki paused.

"Thor was always with the Warriors Three and Lady Sif. They tolerated me, but only because Thor was there. I was not as strong or fast as them, so I was looked down upon as weak. I played pranks in order for someone to notice me. That's how I earned my title: The God of Lies and Mischief." Loki smirked, he actually was proud of that.

"Thor never noticed?" Tony asked slowly.

Loki smiled sadly. "Thor loved me, of that I am certain. It wasn't his fault. He tried." The god's fingers played with his raven colored hair. "Mother was the only one who saw me for what I really was and still loved me despite the fact."

The billionaire stood. "We both have pretty crappy fathers, huh?"

Loki stared.

"My father never had time for me. He was always working or too busy. It felt like I was never good enough for him, no matter what I accomplished. It was always, 'Tony don't touch that', 'go play upstairs' or 'find your mother.' You know, he never once told me that he loved me." Tony said, his voice low.

He reached over and grabbed two glasses and a bottle of scotch and poured it. Tony placed one glass in Loki's hand and clinked them together.

"To fathers," Tony mumbled and downed his.

The Norse god hesitated, then drank the liquid like Tony.

* * *

It was three months later and still no magic. Loki was still worried, but he had settled living at the mansion with Tony, Steve, Natasha and Clint. He had yet to meet this Bruce Banner, but was told that he was off saving lives in remote countries.

He had become adept at finding his way around unaccompanied with only Jarvis as occasional help. It seemed he had fallen into a routine with the rest of the "Avengers" as they called themselves. Every morning he would wake and then eat with the team. Steve would try to teach him basic defensive moves, even though Loki told him he had been a prince and was trained in hand to hand combat. Steve didn't believe him until Loki had grappled and threw him to the mat.

Clint laughed uncontrollably until his sides hurt and Natasha had to hide a grin.

"Okay, I believe you," Rogers said.

Since he was proficient in the art of archery, he and Clint had a lot to talk about. Clint would pester him about technique and Loki had promised to show him once his eyesight returned. Tony found them one evening examining Clint's arrow collection. Well, Clint was explaining while Loki ran his fingers up and down the arrows, memorizing every curve and point.

Natasha and he would talk about different things. She was normally a quiet, reserved person, like Loki, so they got along well. She had made him hot chocolate one morning and suddenly she was his new best friend. Perhaps they did not have chocolate on Asgard.

But his favorite times were still listening to Tony work. He would sit in the lab for hours and talk with the engineer about a totally array of subjects. Loki believed that he had actually found his intellectual equal on Midgard, which was something he could not even do on Asgard. Tony was far too smart to be a human.

He was enjoying their conversation about how magic and science was the same but different, when an alarm went off.

"That's my cue," Tony muttered and dropped what he was working on. "Avengers assemble and all that jazz."

He went over to his suit and waited as Jarvis pieced it together. Tony pointed a finger at Loki.

"I know, I know," Loki smirked. "Stay in the tower. Yes, you've said it a million times."

"That's right," Stark nodded as his faceplate came down. "I don't need to come back and find out that you were hit by a bus trying to cross the street, even if it wouldn't kill you."

Loki crossed his arms.

"Be back in a few," Tony said as he blasted off into the sky.

* * *

Loki waited and waited. This was the longest mission that the Avengers had been called out on since he had been here. By Midgardian time, it has been well over two hours since Tony had left. The god waited on the upstairs couch for them to return.

Then he felt it. The energy signature that he had come to associate Tony with, dropped suddenly. Loki gasped and turned to a window as if he could see out it.

That was not a good idea in hindsight.

The window exploded, showering the room with bits of glass. Loki fell backwards, shielding his face from the worst of the blast. He pushed himself to his feet, unsure of what to do.

"Well what do we have here?" A deep, booming voice mocked. "You must be Loki. My name is Victor von Doom"

Loki growled.

"I've done some research about you," the man continued. "Why not join me? We could rule the world together."

The God of Lies scoffed. "No thanks."

Doom narrowed his eyes. "You're content with being Stark's pet?" He sneered. "We could be invincible together."

Loki backed away a bit. "I'm no one's _pet_," he spat the last word out as if it had left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Have it your way then." Doom smiled.

Loki had no warning when Doom backhanded him and he flew back into the wall. Correction, through the damn wall. Dust filled his lungs as he struggled to breathe properly. He was trapped, he had no magic and no way of knowing where the other man was. The god swore, feeling the taste of copper filling his mouth.

"One last chance, little god." Victor taunted.

Loki spat out a mouthful of blood. "Go to Hel. I'm sure my daughter would be thrilled to see you."

"Very well." Doom sighed, and grabbed Loki around the throat. "Perhaps you would like to see her yourself, Trickster."

He tightened his grip as Loki tried desperately to take a breath. The world spun as Doom forcibly threw him back. Loki felt the thin glass window give under his weight and suddenly he was falling.

Granted Loki was used to falling, he would fly around Asgard as children with Thor and see who could out do the other. This time however, Thor was not here and he had no way of stopping himself. He knew Tony's tower was several stories tall, and he was sure from this height that it would most likely kill him. What was that Midgardian phrase that the engineer had shouted when they first met? Oh right.

"Shit,"

He silently bit farewell to Thor and Frigga and waited for the impact.

Only it never came. His ears were filled with a roar of engines and he felt two metal arms wrap around his torso as he fell. Using Loki's momentum, Tony steered them clear of the concrete as many people gasped and ran for cover.

"Tony!"

"Hey there Lokes," Tony grinned. "Nice of you to drop in."

"Not the time," Loki muttered.

They landed amidst the other Avengers. The Doombots were either destroyed or they had already retreated. Tony flew back up the tower to kick Doom's ass, but when he arrived, the room was vacant. Iron Man frowned, we had been looking forward to grinding Doom's head into the pavement.

"He's gone," Tony said bitterly as he touched down. "Damn."

Clint clasped Loki on the shoulder. "Oh, man!" he shouted. "I thought we were going to have to scrape you off the road! Don't ever scare us like that again."

"My apologizes," Loki smirked. "I will try to refrain from being thrown from tall buildings from now on."

"Good," Clint barked. "because I nearly had a heart attack!"

* * *

The Avengers had moved into another floor while Tony's crew worked on repairing the damage that Doom had inflicted. They had led a protesting Loki to the medical bay, who kept insisting that he was fine, and he didn't need them smothering him.

Tony wasn't having any of it.

"Sit down, or I'll strap you down," he warned.

Loki smirked.

Iron Man fixed him with his "I'm-not-going-to-let-you-leave-so-sit-still-mister" look, and that was the end of that conversation.

* * *

A couple hours later, the team was in the living room relaxing with a movie. Tony had said that they could do something else for Loki's sake, but the god only shook his head. He knew movie nights were a tradition after vanquishing an enemy.

"It's fine, Tony," Loki said. "I can listen to it perfectly. I'm blind, not deaf."

By the time the second movie had ended, it was completely dark. Loki stood next to a window, pretending to stare out into the night. Clint was snoring on one of the couches and Steve was quietly reading by the lamp. Natasha must have retired a little while ago, but she as so silent that Loki had not noticed.

Suddenly out of nowhere, a lightning storm lit the sky followed by a crack of thunder. Next to him, Tony jumped a bit, but he would never admit it. The lightning flashed again and again overhead, illuminating the night. After the lightning as usual came the rolling thunder. Underneath the Avenger's feet, they felt the tower quake almost in fear.

"Wow, that was sudden," Tony said. "Freak storm."

Loki smiled sadly. "He's searching."

Tony and Steve turned their heads.

"Who's searching?" Tony asked.

Loki stared ahead, his emerald eyes flashing with the lightning. Even though The All Father must have told Thor what he really was, his brother was still looking all over the nine realms for him. A lump had formed in the god's throat. Thor still considered him his little brother, and _loved_ him. The thunder that followed sounded almost like Thor's boisterous laugh to Loki's ears.

"My brother."

* * *

This may end up with another chapter depending on feedback. It'll have Thor coming to Earth and meeting Loki and the Avengers.

Hope you enjoyed it.

Nicholls


	2. Forgotten Is Forgiven

**Forgotten Is Forgiven**

* * *

_"I hope you live a life you_'_re proud of_. _If you find that you_'re _not__, I hope __you__ have the strength to start all over again."_- F. Scott Fitzgerald

* * *

Six months had passed since Loki had been standing in Stark Tower with Tony and Steve in the midst of a large thunderstorm. He pressed a palm to his face, wishing he could have actually seen the storm. Thor always was one to show off.

_"Wow, that was sudden," Tony said. "Freak storm."_

_Loki smiled sadly. "He's searching."_

_Tony and Steve turned their heads._

_"Who's searching?" Tony asked._

_Loki stared ahead, his emerald eyes flashing with the lightning. Even though The All Father must have told Thor what he really was, his brother was still looking all over the nine realms for him. A lump had formed in the god's throat. Thor still considered him his little brother, and __loved__ him. The thunder that followed sounded almost like Thor's boisterous laugh to Loki's ears._

_"My brother."_

The god leaned back against the couch, melting into the cushions. The Avengers were on another mission, and even though Loki had been named an honorary member, he was still not permitted to accompany them.

His lack of sight was an annoying thing indeed. Though, he was not _completely_ blind in a sense. He could feel a small amount of magic right underneath his skin, it was there, and yet he couldn't access it. It was a strange feeling, but it did allow him to "see" more or less. Loki could not see a chair as another person could, but he _knew_ it was there. It was a good thing too because before his little magic returned he had accidently ran smack into a wall. Clint had almost hurt himself laughing.

Loki closed his eyes, in hindsight it was pretty funny he supposed.

The God of Mischief didn't even realize he had fallen asleep until Clint's voice cut his dream short.

"I DON'T EVEN- GOD WHY ARE THEY ALWAYS _GOOEY_?"

The archer stomped noisily into the living room, leaving a trail of green liquid in his grumpy wake. His door slammed loudly making Loki jerk slightly. A second later the rest of the team traipsed in, thankfully not as obnoxiously as Clint. Loki wrinkled his nose at the offending odor.

"Hello," he offered.

Tony huffed. "That was not good."

"Do tell."

"It was easy enough," Tony replied. "but when we killed them, the suckers would explode in a storm of green goop."

"Ah, that explains the smell. I was wondering," Loki said softly.

"MY GOD IT'S IN MY EYES!"

Everyone held back a laugh.

"I'll go help him," Captain America sighed, and walked off towards Clint's room. "before he slips and hurts himself."

"Good call, Captain Boy Scout," Tony smiled and saluted.

Cap rolled his eyes.

Loki sniffed around Tony. "How come you are not coved in this 'goo'?" He asked curiously.

"I can fly," Tony said smartly. "And I may or may not have shot a missile at the creatures when Clint was standing too close.

* * *

As usual, the team gathered around the large TV to watch a movie. Whoever decided on _The Lion King_ should be shot and then shot again. Halfway through the Disney movie, Loki had abruptly stood and walked out of the room.

Everyone looked around, and the light bulb clicked.

The movie was about two brothers, one was the king and the younger one killed the older one to claim the throne. Then he tried to have the prince killed so no one could threaten his rule. It was almost scary how much the movie and their Norse god had in common.

Tony ran a hand through his unruly hair. "Well, that went well."

About two months ago, Loki gathered his courage and had told the rest of the Avengers about his home, and what had transpired. Nick Fury and Bruce were even there via webcam. He had started with his "adoption" from Jotunheim and Thor's coronation. Loki admitted that when he had let go of Gungnir and fell into the wormhole, he had thought it was the end of him, and he was a little disappointed when that had fell through.

The Avengers had felt sorry for the god. Over the past months they had grown quite attached to the Norse god in their tower. Despite his past he was a very likeable person. The good Captain had spoke up and said that everyone deserved a second chance. He looked around the room, no one on the team was innocent of any crimes, and the way he saw it, Loki deserved a clean slate too. It was after Steve's speech that Fury had agreed to let Loki become an Avenger, once he regained his sight.

Tony found the god at his bar, with a glass of scotch in one hand, and his head in the other. The billionaire sat down next to him.

"Hey, you wanna talk?"

Loki shook his head. "No, I do not."

Tony poured himself a glass also. "You know it's just a stupid movie, right?"

"I know that," Loki snapped. "It doesn't make it any less true."

"We know what you did, Loki," Tony said softly. "and we know that you are sorry. You were hurt and didn't know what to do."

Loki played with his glass.

"I probably would have done the same thing."

The god turned. "What do you mean?"

Tony poured himself another glass and topped off Loki's. "After I was found in Afghanistan, I told you this remember? I wanted to take all my weapons and blow the whole country up, to make up for what I went through."

There was a pause.

"I could have too," the genius said as he ran his finger around the rim of the glass. "I had the power, but it wouldn't have made the situation any better. So yeah, I get it."

Loki laughed a bit. "We really are messed up, are we not?"

"That's what makes us interesting," Tony smirked. "People love the bad boys."

They finished their drinks and stood up. Tony checked his watch, it was nearly midnight.

Suddenly the floor shook violently.

"Whoa," Tony gasped. "I didn't have that much to drink did I?"

Loki lost his footing and fell backwards, landing unceremoniously on the floor.

Tony was going to help him up when there was a flash of light and the roar of thunder filled the tower. The others came running and they stopped as a figure dropped from the sky. Lightning crackled around the man as he stood up to his full height. A large hammer was clasped firmly in his hand, his long blond hair whipping around his face. Blue eyes scanned the room before stopping at the person on the ground.

"Brother," the God of Thunder whispered.

The team froze. So this was Thor, the one Loki had spoken of.

Loki bowed his head, the feeling of shame weighing on him. He felt the need to say something, anything! But the words would not come, it irritated him. All of his power of words and they had left him.

Thor walked over and knelt down in front of his brother, he slowly lifted Loki's chin up so he could get a good look at the one he had feared was dead. Loki allowed his face to meet his brothers. He desperately wished he could see, to properly beg for Thor's forgiveness.

"Loki," Thor said quietly. "I looked all over the Nine Realms for you. I am glad you are safe, brother." The God of Thunder paused, looking into Loki's eyes. "What has happened, brother?"

Tony attempted to step back to give the two gods their space, when Loki's hand shot out and latched onto his pant leg. Loki looked up with his dull, unseeing eyes, pleading with the engineer to stay. Tony stayed, after all, Loki needed the morale support.

"Thor," Tony said. "Loki had a bit of a mishap, and well, he's sorta blind."

Thor turned sharply to his brother, he frowned at his green eyes that did not shine as brightly as they normally did.

"Thor," Loki choked out. "I'm sorry-"

Loki didn't get to finish his sentence before Thor had scooped him up into his arms, in an almost bone-crushing hug. If Loki wasn't a god he would have been flattened.

"No, Loki. I'm sorry." Thor replied. "I'm sorry that I always took you for granted, that I treated you so unfairly. I was arrogant and unable to see that you were hurting. You were right, when you said I was too young and reckless to take over rule of Asgard."

Loki leaned closer to his brother.

"You were so busy trying to gain Odin's praise and favor, that you missed that you were always my favorite."

Loki couldn't hold back his tears any longer. His brother was apologizing to him, when it should be the other way around. He did not understand what was going on.

Thor loosened his grip a bit. "I know you are a Frost Giant, brother."

The younger god froze. This was it.

"I do not approve that Father hid it from you," Thor frowned. "But none the less, you are my brother, if not by blood, then by bond."

It was if a sudden weight was lifted off of Loki's chest.

"Do you remember what I told you on the day of your coronation?" Loki said softly.

Thor nodded.

"_You're my brother and my friend. Sometimes I'm envious, but never doubt that I love you."_

Loki smiled. "I never spoke truer words than those."

"I know."

"Can you ever forgive me, brother?" Loki mumbled into Thor's chest.

Thor hugged him closer. "It is forgotten."

Loki smiled tiredly. They were going to be all right.

"Are these your friends?" Thor asked, looking around the room.

"Yes," Loki answered. He really didn't have any energy left to introduce them. Thankfully Tony has that covered.

"Hey there," Tony said as he helped Loki to his feet. "I'm Tony. The blond one over there is Steve. Natasha is the redhead and Clint is next to her. We have another member of our Merry Band, but he's saving lives somewhere."

Thor nodded politely to them.

"And you've already met our newest Avenger," Tony said, indicating Loki.

"These are some mighty fine companions you have here, brother." Thor boomed.

"Yes, yes they are," Loki said wearily.

Tony looked down at the god and frowned. "Are you ok there Sparky?"

"I'm fine, I just need some-" Loki was going to say all he needed was some rest, when a tremor coursed through his body, followed by waves of pain. The Trickster groaned and collapsed to the floor.

Tony was instantly at his side, checking his pulse. He placed a hand over the god's forehead.

"He's burning up," the CEO cursed. "Steve help me, will ya?"

"What is going on?" Thor growled.

Steve hurried over and put a comforting hand on Thor's shoulder. "He's going to be fine," the soldier said. He gave Thor a small smile and helped Tony lift Loki and carry him to his room. It really wasn't a challenge, Loki weighed next to nothing as it seemed.

They settled him into his bed and Steve went to fetch a cold washcloth from the bathroom. Tony pulled off Loki's green hoodie and threw it in the corner. He changed the god into a pair of shorts and a v-neck shirt and placed the cool cloth on his forehead once Steve returned.

Thor came to check on his brother.

"I'll stay with him," Tony said. "you should get some rest there Point Break."

The thunder god did not understand the reference but nodded. "Thank you."

"Steve'll show you to a spare room. I will wake you if something happens." Tony assured him.

The super soldier led the taller god out of the room and closed the door.

Tony pulled up a chair and settled down. Had it almost been a year since he had almost ran Loki over with his car? Oh how things had changed. Tony absently brushed one of Loki's dark locks out of his eyes. He was quite fond of the prankster. In ways he was just as smart if not smarter than the billionaire and just as quick witted.

He could tell the rest of the team cared too. They had grown into one big family, a dysfunctional family at that, but still a family. He did not condone Loki's previous actions, but he understood, the pain and betrayal. But it seemed like Loki was sorry and willing to change, and that is all that mattered in Tony's book. If he could turn his life around, why couldn't the god?

Loki flinched in his sleep and clenched the sheets between his fists.

Tony placed his hand over his friend's and felt a stab of worry. What if Thor was here to take Loki back to Asgard to stand trial for what he did? The engineer didn't know if he could let that happen.

Correction, Tony would _not_ let it happen.

* * *

Tony awoke the next morning with a kink in his back and a stiff neck, but he shrugged it off, convinced that coffee would make it all better. He checked his watch, it was nine in the morning. At first he was confused as to why he was in a chair, and then it all came rushing back.

"Right, two Norse gods in my tower."

Loki stirred, slowly opening his eyes. Tony leaned in a bit closer, examining him.

"Hey there, Sleeping Beauty. How you doing?"

Loki blinked a few times. "I…"

Tony frowned. "What's up?" He asked.

Loki took in the world around him. Tony's hair was sticking wildly every which way and his warm, brown eyes stared at the god as if he had gone crazy. He could see the sunlight shining through the windows, he could see the bed and the sheets around him, and he could also see that his hair had grown quite long these last few months. Loki made a mental note to take care of that later.

"I see you, Tony." Loki smiled.

Tony opened his mouth. "That's great!" He shouted.

Loki made a face.

"Sorry, you're probably still tired."

"My magic came rushing back last night. It was not an enjoyable experience," Loki said and lay back down on the pillow.

"Yeah, I could tell."

Loki's eyelids could not stay open any longer, and he drifted back to sleep. Standing, Tony made his way to the door and quietly slipped out. He leaned against the wood frame, breathing slowly. Loki's magic was back. That was a good thing.

And Tony was the first person he had seen after coming to earth.

* * *

A few hours later, Loki awoke to shouting, one of the voices sounded like Tony.

"You are not taking him back there!"

Yup, there was Tony.

"I am sorry, Son of Howard. But I must, he will face our father for what he has done."

And there's Thor.

"Don't call me that! And he's your brother!"

"The Allfather has ordered that he be returned home," Thor replied. "Though I do not wish to see my brother in anymore pain, an order cannot be ignored."

Tony scoffed. "Screw the Allfather. Loki's home is here with us."

Loki sat up straighter, oh my God, Tony was going to get himself killed.

"Stark," Thor tried this time. "the Allfather is-"

"I don't care if he's the freakin' Easter Bunny, he's not getting Loki, not after what he's done."

Thor was silent.

"Struck a nerve?" Tony growled. "He stole Loki, lied about his heritage and raised him to hate himself. He treated Loki like he was second best and he wondered why he snapped. Wow, A+ parenting there, Odin."

"Tony," Steve stepped in between the two men.

Tony rounded on Steve. "What? You're going to let him take him?"

"No, of course not, Loki's our friend," Steve reasoned. "But we should do this more civilly that's all."

"Hold on, let me get my suit," Tony grumbled.

Steve sighed. "That's not what I meant."

It seemed that Loki took this time to appear in the doorway, and peered out into the living room. Thor was at one end near the windows and Tony was standing not too far away. The others were seated on the couch, not wanting to come in between the God of Thunder and Iron Man.

Tony was pissed.

"Tony, Thor," Loki said and walked into the room.

The two turned.

"Oh good, you're up," Tony said and sauntered over to Loki's side. "Now that everyone's here, we can take a vote."

Loki looked at him in confusion.

"All who wants Loki to stay, raise your hand."

The team hesitantly raised their hands slowly into the air, slightly afraid of both men standing in front of them.

"That is four here, I think Bruce would agree, so five, against the Allfather. Democracy wins," Tony smirked. "I love America."

"That is not how things work on Asgard," Thor said.

Tony rolled his eyes. "We aren't on Asgard, are we?"

Thor said nothing.

"I'm afraid he's right, Tony." Loki said quietly. "I must return to Asgard."

"Oh hell no! They'll probably lock you up!" Tony sputtered.

Loki sighed. "I tried to destroy another realm and almost killed my brother. I have to face the Allfather and the court."

"But that wasn't you," Tony turned so he was face to face with the god. Well, face to neck, whatever. "you aren't that person anymore."

"And I have you and your team to thank."

"Tony is _not_ our leader," Clint mumbled, and Natasha elbowed him.

Tony was silent for a moment.

"Then I'm coming with you," he decided.

"What?" Loki asked at the same time as everyone else did.

"I can be your lawyer or whatever," Tony shrugged. "It'll be great."

"Tony," Loki said softly. "humans are not permitted in Asgard."

Iron Man rolled his eyes. "Well then, they better buckle up, because we're going."

"We?" Clint echoed. "I'm sorry, but I really do not wish to be skewered by a bunch of angry Asgardians."

Steve looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'm in, Loki's our friend, and we stand by our friends."

"Even if it means traveling to a different realm?" Clint asked.

"Even then," Cap replied.

Clint raised his hands in defeat. "Fine, I'm in too. Hey, maybe I can meet some of those archers that Loki told me about. I could show them a thing or two," he said smugly.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Someone has to keep an eye on Birdbrain over here," she said. "I'm in."

"So am I."

Everyone jumped as the screen lit up, displaying Dr. Banner's smiling face.

"Holy mother!" Tony gasped. "Warn a guy next time Bruce!"

"Sorry, that was rude," Bruce said sheepishly. Natasha smirked.

Tony suddenly turned angry. "Were you listening? Did Fury hack Jarvis again?"

Fury's bald head popped up next to Bruce's, he was scowling.

"Yes, Stark, we were listening. This is my team, remember?"

"And this is my building," Tony snapped, emphasizing the "my" part.

Fury glared. "We will keep the world safe until you get back," he said and moved off screen.

"Do you need the Big Guy?" Banner asked.

"Wait, are you coming home?" Clint asked.

"Yeah in a couple days or so."

"Well, we can't wait a few days, Bruce." Tony said.

"Understood," Bruce replied. "besides, I'm not sure how he'd react to being in a foreign place."

"That is true," Natasha said slowly. "he might be a bit upset."

Bruce snorted. "Understatement. Anyway, I will see you when you get back."

The feed was cut and they were met with a blank, black screen.

"Jarvis," Tony called.

"_Yes, sir,"_ the AI answered.

"Up our security, so this never happens again."

"_Will do, sir."_

People messing with Tony Stark's technology made him a bit angry.

"So Hercules," Tony said, facing the Thunder God. "when do we leave?"

* * *

"I am never doing that again," Clint muttered as he lay across the rainbow bridge. "Seriously, that was worse than the Millennium Force."

Thor and Loki stood over the poor archer, trying to help him, but they were just waved off. Natasha was unsurprisingly fine and was dragging Clint back to his feet. It seemed that Steve had the harder job of making sure Tony didn't fall off the Bifrost, because of the ridiculous way that the genius was craning his body over the edge. Tony's brain was working in overdrive as it fought to take in everything that it could.

"Tony, c'mon, remember why we are here," Steve yelled. "Stop playing around."

Thor turned to Heimdall, and nodded in thanks.

The Gatekeeper merely blinked, and trained his eyes on Loki instead.

"Loki," he said in his deep, unwavering voice.

Loki bowed. "I am deeply sorry for my actions against you."

Heimdall only nodded. "I know, Trickster, I saw what happened on Midgard. Go, the Allfather awaits."

Xxx

The Throne Room was very impressive to the eyes of the Avengers, minus Loki that is. He had seen the hall far too many times to care anymore. The God of Mischief walked alongside Tony, which irritated Thor greatly. The blond saw how close the two were.

Odin was seated in his throne and Frigga was standing next to him. Her eyes filled with tears as soon as Loki had appeared through the heavy, double doors. She had tried to hide it, but Loki always had held a special place in her heart, that no one else could compare to.

Against the Allfather's wishes, she rushed down and collected her youngest son in a fierce hug only a mother could provide.

"I am so relieved that you are safe," Frigga whispered into Loki's ear. "I was worried sick."

Loki wrapped his slender arms around his mother. "I'm sorry I worried you, mother."

Frigga released him and ran a soft hand down the side of his pale face.

"I'm glad you are here, Loki, and you still are my little boy no matter what happens."

Loki smiled. "Thank you."

Odin cracked Gungnir against the stone floor, drawing everyone's attention to him. Instantly the hall quieted, and everyone turned.

"Loki Laufeyson," Odin said. "Step forward."

Frigga and Loki both flinched at the surname that Odin had used. Neither believed that the name fit at all. As far as Loki was concerned, he had no last name, and he was perfectly happy about it.

The Allfather gazed at the crowd. "You have brought guests, I see."

Thor stepped forward. "Yes father, these are Loki's friends from Midgard. They insisted they be allowed to come. I had no choice."

Odin stared at them, as if he were trying to see into their souls.

It was creepy.

Loki moved away from Tony, who found that he did not like that very much. He felt that he couldn't protect Loki while he was away from him, which was ridiculous because the guy was god.

"Loki, for your crimes against Jotunheim and Asgard, you will suffer the punishment that will be decided by the High Council," Odin said sternly. "Do you accept this?"

The god was about to open his mouth and reply when Tony decided to butt in. Typical.

"I actually object to this, Mr. Allfather, sir."

Loki turned his head. "Stay out of this Tony," he hissed.

"No can do, Frosty," Tony smirked and walked in front of the god.

Captain America nearly slapped himself, this cannot end well. And it seemed that the rest of the team had the same feeling. Natasha scanned the room for all possible exits and the Hawk wondered how fast he hightail it back to the rainbow bridge.

"I'd like to take this time to address a few things," Tony said as he set his briefcase at his feet. "First, you are a terrible father."

Odin narrowed his eye dangerously, it reminded Tony of Fury, which made it all the more better.

"Midgardian, you dare-"

"Oh, I do."

"Listen, mortal-"

"No, you listen," Tony shot back. "You lied to Loki his entire life, which I hear is a long time in 'god years', and you wonder why he went berserk? My God, I would have too if I found out that my supposed father stole me from another country to use as a pawn in some sick twisted game!"

If it was possible, Cap's eyebrows rose further up into his hair.

"Also, where I come from, siblings are generally treated with the same love and care. I get it, Thor is your golden boy, your dear prince, but Loki is a prince too," Tony grit his teeth. "And from what I hear, King in another realm. But if you would have listened when he said Thor wasn't ready to rule, none of this would have happened, and I hate to disappoint you, but your precious son was not ready. He would have started war with Jotunheim as easily as he swings that hammer of his."

"Oh, we're gonna die," Clint sighed and crossed his chest.

Tony glared at him.

"Loki was only doing what he thought was right in his eyes, it's not his fault if he wasn't thinking clearly, because let's face it, you did a crappy job of parenting. And don't get me started on the racism thing. You raised him to hate his own people, that's messed up."

Iron Man stood protectively in front of his friend.

"This last year, Loki has been nothing but helpful to us. He has helped us, hell he even stood up to Doom, who is so damn annoying," Tony said, his voice even. "As representatives of Midgard or whatever, I will not allow you to take Loki."

If looks could kill, and by God, Odin was trying, Tony would be dead.

"That goes for us too," Steve said and walked up next to Tony. "Loki is our friend."

Clint and Natasha took their places next to Steve and Tony. They all stared at the Allfather, daring him to move against them.

Thor just stared at the Avengers, his mouth slightly open. Never had he witnessed anyone standing up to the Allfather, and never for Loki. His brother had truly found great friends during his stay on Midgard. He felt his chest swell with pride and strode over next to Clint.

"I also will not allow Loki to come to any further harm," Thor announced. "I believe that he has suffered enough and should be allowed to continue living with the Avengers as he has been for the past year."

Tony eyed Thor for any trace of sarcasm, but it seemed that the Thunder God was incapable of anything but pure sincerity.

Loki caught his mother's eye, who just smiled. She was happy that her son had found his place among the people of Midgard. He had made loyal friends, something that he had never found on Asgard.

The Allfather held Gungnir in a vice-like hold that would have scared Tony, if the genius was a normal human that is.

"Loki," Odin said.

The God of Mischief glanced at him, distrust clearly evident on his face, he wasn't even trying to hide it.

"Thor and I will negotiate with the Jotuns, and the people of Asgard will never hear of this, they must continue to believe that their royal family is stable," Odin spoke, his voice never betrayed any of the anger he was harboring. "you will remain on Midgard, until peace has been restored. Do you accept?"

Loki stared back, unblinking. "I accept."

Odin nodded. "Very well, I will have rooms prepared for your friends, tomorrow you must guide them back. Thor and I will meet with Jotunheim as well."

They bowed and left the chamber.

Clint as it seemed, found a group of archers and instantly hit it off and followed them to the training grounds. Thor laughed and assured Steve that he was in no danger. The crowned-prince mentioned that he would like for Lady Natasha to meet with his friend, Sif later on. No one thought that was a good idea.

Thor was showing them around, when suddenly Loki pulled the shorter man into a deserted corridor and smacked Tony on the back of his head.

"Oww!" Tony howled. "God, Loki, what the hell was that for?"

Loki eyes were on fire. "What was that for you ask? You could have gotten us all KILLED!"

Tony gulped. "Well, I didn't, so no harm done."

"That is not the point, Tony! I am not worth you standing up to the Allfather, of all people." Loki ran his hands through his dark hair.

Tony frowned. "See, that's your problem. You _are_ worth it, Loki."

Loki looked up.

"You may not see it, but I see a wonderful person who is just a bit lost in the world. I was too after I got back from Afghanistan. I made it my purpose to help people to make up for all the lives my weapons stole."

The god was silent.

"You can do it too, help us save the world."

Tony made the god look him straight in the eyes, Loki's emerald ones locking with Tony's chocolate brown. "C'mon it'll be fun, besides, I'm too irresistible to say no to." He winked.

Loki let out a chuckle. "That you are."

"So is that a yes?" Tony asked hopefully, honestly he had never thought about what they were going to do once they returned home, he was just so focused on not letting Odin have Loki.

"Indeed it is, Mr. Stark," Loki smirked. "Whatever would I do without you?"

* * *

_"Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down."_ - Socrates

* * *

Since the first chapter received a lot of positive reviews, here is part 2. I'm glad you like it! I think I'll add part 3 once I get back from vacation.

Nicholls


	3. The Day Before You

**The Day Before You**

"_It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light."_- Aristotle Onassis

* * *

Loki looked aimlessly out upon Asgard from his bedroom window. The sun was setting and the god was silently grateful for it, it meant that soon he would be returning to Midgard with the others. He laughed. When he and Thor were little, they would scoff at how boring and plain Midgard was, and now he could not wait to go back. It was surprising.

He glanced back at his room, nothing had changed since he had left. Loki moved around, collecting books and various other objects to take with him, he doubted he would be returning anytime soon. When he was finished he placed them in the void where he kept the Casket of Ancient Winters, and closed it.

Satisfied, Loki left the room to look for the engineer. Clint was still off with the archers, Natasha and Sif were chatting in the courtyard, and Thor and Steve were with the Warriors Three.

The Warriors Three and Lady Sif.

Just thinking about them made Loki angry. He had spent a better part of his life constantly at the ends of many of his jokes, because he was neither strong or as good a warrior as Thor.

"Brother?"

Loki stopped in the long corridor. "What is it, Thor?" He asked.

Thor rung his hands. "I thought you might want to spar with me and the warriors."

Loki rolled his eyes. "No, Thor, I do not. Besides, I was always ridiculed because my talents did not lie in swinging a giant hammer around and smashing things."

"I understand your talents now, brother," Thor said.

"You may, but they will never."

"I shall make them see."

Loki was touched that his brother was trying. "It's not that simple, Thor."

Thor averted his gaze, frantically searching for something, anything.

"Don't worry, brother," Loki said calmly. "I have my own friends now."

He thought of Tony, and how he used his mind and intelligence to place him on par with others such as Captain America. Tony did not have the good Captain's super strength, but he had built a suit that made it possible to fight on the same plain. Tony, like Loki, had intelligence and brilliance instead of brute strength.

"Ah, the Man of Iron," Thor said. "He is most brave for standing up to Father."

"Or stupid," Loki mumbled, he didn't know which.

"What was that, brother?"

"Nothing," Loki lied. "Speaking of Tony, I must find him."

Thor nodded. "I shall be there to wish you farewell tomorrow."

"I never had any doubts."

* * *

Instead of Tony, Loki found his mother instead out in the gardens. He went and sat by her on one of the many stone benches that were spread out among the plants.

"Loki," she said and placed her arms around her youngest son.

Loki leaned into the embrace. "I will miss you, mother."

Frigga stroked his face. "And I you, my son."

The queen looked into her son's emerald eyes, she saw something different in them, something that she has never seen in all the years that Loki had lived on Asgard. She saw happiness, actual genuine happiness. Frigga smiled.

Loki quirked an eyebrow.

"Are you happy with them?"

Loki didn't miss a beat. "Yes."

"Is it because of Tony Stark?"

_Why is everyone bringing up Tony? _Loki thought to himself.

"You don't have to lie to me," Frigga murmured. "No matter what, I will always love you."

He never did find Tony that night.

* * *

The Avengers woke the next morning feeling refreshed and ready to return home to Stark Tower. Clint however, was not pleased to be using the Bifrost again, Tasha just rolled her eyes.

Loki had contemplated speaking with Odin alone, but he decided against it. Odin was not his real father, and never had been. There had been no reason to take him from Jotunheim that day, even if it was to "unite" the two kingdoms. Loki found out that he had been the bastard child of Laufey who had abandoned him because of his small size. So either way, peace was never to be had with the Jotuns through Loki, no one would have accepted him.

_Asgard never accepted me either, _Loki thought to himself. _But things have changed now._

He hugged and kissed his mother goodbye one more time. He even allowed Thor to give him a massive bear hug, even though he regretted it immediately afterwards.

Loki nodded to his brother and turned and walked towards Tony, who was trying to talk to Heimdall, but was failing miserably.

The others had said their farewells and the Bifrost was activated. The last thing Loki heard before they were back in New York City was Clint muttering, "Oh dear God." Over and over again.

* * *

Things have settled down back in Stark Tower, villains kept attacking, but that was normal. As it turned out, Loki was extremely helpful in battle. Tony didn't know what the Asgardians saw in using brute strength all the time, the way that Loki battled saved time and energy. The genius just passed it off as the warrior gods being incredibly stupid.

Tony had taken it upon itself to teach the God of Mischief about Midgardian technology. Since Loki had been blind for most of his time on earth, Tony had not been able to introduce his friend to his favorite hobby.

Although, it had been an apparent to Tony that he had made mistake in giving the god a cell phone.

"Loki, for the last time, 'LOL' does not mean 'Lots of Love'!"

"But, Clint said-"

"Clint's an idiot."

"Hey! I can hear you!"

"I don't care!"

Clint muttered something in a foreign language and flipped Tony off.

"And you," the engineer said as he rounded on Loki, "who even set up a Facebook for you?"

Loki was about to open his mouth to say "Clint", but he was cut off.

"Never mind. I'm going to kill him."

Next Tony showed him how to make food using the microwave and toaster. The whole time Loki complained that he could just make food appear instead of doing it the hard way. Though at one point, Loki had thought that the toaster was trying to attack him when the bread popped up, and instantly smote it with his mighty god powers. Tony had thrown his hands in the air and stormed out, but he soon forgave the god after he learned he could make ice cubes out of thin air for his scotch.

Clint had introduced him to the world of video games. Loki's favorite was Mario Cart and Halo, for some reason. He was almost as good as Clint was. Natasha found them one day at four in the morning passed out in front of the television surrounded by a hundred cans of Mountain Dew and twenty empty chip bags.

Note to self, Clint thought later, do not give Loki anymore Mountain Dew. It caused him to talk a lot. Well more than usual. And he was incredibly hyper and was prone to changing people's hair color.

The other members of the team did not enjoy it when Tony and the god got along though. It normally meant something blew up, or someone got pranked. Tony had found it ever so funny to change all of Steve's tabs that he has on his computer to porn sites, so when the poor captain restarted the internet his eyes almost leaped out of his head. There was a very unmanly shriek and the bang of a closing door. Poor Steve, he had just grasped how to use the thing too.

Loki had magically left fifty bags of bird seed in Clint's room and had hid all of his bows in each of them, forcing the archer to open said bags. He even turned the bed into a giant nest. Clint was not amused.

No one wanted to mess with Bruce or Natasha. Tony wasn't sure which one scared him more, the trigger happy Russian or a giant, green rage monster. Decisions, decisions.

One afternoon, Fury had called screaming that someone had left a pirate hat, a fake rapier, and a dozen parrots in his office, who kept squawking "Yo ho ho it's a pirate's life for me." Fortunately, Steve was the one who answered the phone, and Tony was thankful because he wasn't sure if he could get a coherent sentence out, he was laughing way too hard. He never should have shown Loki, _Pirates of the Caribbean_.

Thor's pajama's had gone missing, the one's that Jane had bought him the last time she had stopped by. They had little lightning bolts, and Thor adored them. Only, the joke was on Loki and the rest, because Thor had no trouble sleeping completely naked instead.

Two trips back to Asgard later, Thor returned with news that the Jotuns would have nothing to do with peace and that Dr. Doom and Amora were conspiring with them. Tony only groaned, he was waiting for the shit to hit the fan. Oh joy.

Thor informed them that Amora was a sorcerer, much like their resident Norse god who was sitting at the table playing with random ice cubes that he created, instead of listening. Somehow, the two had forged a communication link with the Jotuns and were planning on brining them to earth.

Loki frowned, and stopped carving little arrows out of the cubes, but not before he slung a few at the archer. Clint jumped from his seat as the arrows slid down the back of his t-shirt and danced around frantically trying to dislodge them.

He knew they were after him.

Doom was in on it because he liked causing destruction; he would be perfectly content on watching the world burn. The bastard. And Amora was still mad that Thor had chosen a human woman instead of her.

"Loki, what do you think we should do?" Tony asked the god on his left.

The god looked up. "We should locate Doom and Amora, and take them out before they can transport the Jotuns here."

Tony nodded. "How exactly do we do that, Houdini?"

Loki was surprised that everyone was staring at him, and asking him how to handle the situation. Normally it was Thor that took command. Things really have changed.

"Doom has a company to run and a country. He'll most likely be in either of those places. Amora will be nearby, hopefully," Bruce said thoughtfully.

"Then we will start with Doom," Loki said.

Suddenly the ground beneath them shook violently. The team stood up as the alarm blared to life.

"Well," Tony muttered. "So much for finding them."

"This is much easier, Man of Iron," Thor laughed and raised Mjölnir.

"Suit up," Steve shouted.

* * *

When they reached outside, there was chaos everywhere. Buildings were on fire and crumbling as civilians rushed to safety. The NYPD was trying to contain the mass panic, but there was really little that they could do.

"Call it Cap," Natasha said.

Steve nodded. "Natasha and Clint, I want you to rescue anyone you can find in the buildings and get them to safety. Bruce, I want you to clear the streets so medical teams can access the wounded. Thor, you find Amora, if she's so in love with you, that means she won't hurt you as she would one of us. And Tony and Loki, find Doom and stop him. I'll go with Nat and Clint. SHIELD should be here soon."

Tony mock-saluted and took to the air. "C'mon, Reindeer Games, we have a date with Doom."

Loki rolled his eyes and followed after. Honestly, first "cow" from Thor and now "Reindeer Games" from Tony. Didn't anyone know their animals anymore? If anything, he looked more like a goat, not that he would say that to anyone.

Luckily most of the damage was in a relatively small area, so Clint, Natasha, Steve, and Bruce had an easier time clearing the rubble and helping people who were trapped. It was over an hour before emergency response vehicles arrived and took over the assisting of civilians, so the Avengers took off to find Tony and Loki as SHIELD decided to make their grand entrance.

All it took was one hour for Tony's world to completely crumble before him.

* * *

_Earlier…_

"Doom!" Tony shouted. "That's enough!"

Doom only laughed and threw Loki through two buildings. Tony knew the god could take it, but it didn't make watching it any easier. Iron Man flew towards the madman and they exchanged blows. Tony was a lot faster than his enemy, and Doom soon found himself flying off the top of his building. A well aimed missile caught the villain in his descent, and was only saved by his magic.

Loki stood up and shook his head, trying to clear his vision. Doom and a nasty throwing arm on him.

Victor flew up and punched Tony in the face, sending him crashing into Loki, who barely caught him before they were slammed into the ground.

"Thanks Prancer," Tony joked as he stood up.

"You really need to stop that," Loki chided. "I am not a moose."

"Reindeer."

"Whatever."

They dodged one of Doom's magic blasts and prepared to launch a counter attack, when Thor's voice rang in their ears.

"_Man of Iron! I cannot locate Amora. I have searched the whole city, she is not here."_

"That's because she's behind you," a voice said smoothly in Loki's ear as hands latched onto his head.

Dr. Doom took Tony's moment of distraction to fire a slew of bursts at the man, who was too focused on Loki to stop them. The suit groaned as the blasts hit, propelling Tony several hundred meters away into a school.

"Get off me you vile-" Loki hissed. Victor cut him off with an armored fist to his face. The god's head snapped back and saw that Amora's eyes were glowing.

_Not good._

The man in the iron mask held Loki's arms in a vice-like grip as Amora started muttering incantations under her breath. Loki struggled, but it wasn't working, something was terribly wrong.

_Tony…_

Loki willed the man to be all right. He's survived worse, right?

Amora pushed all the memories that Loki had thought he had sealed away to the surface. All the times in his life when he wasn't good enough for Odin or Thor's friends, burned fresh in his mind. He remembered the time he was accused for cutting off Sif's golden hair and how he was harshly punished for a crime he did not commit. Thor's friends seemed to delight in making him feel inferior, just because he used his head in battle instead of his fists. He knew Thor didn't mean to cast the shadow that Loki grew up in, he _knew_ it, and he _forgave_ him for that. Then why was he still so angry?

Loki remembered the stares he received in Asgard from its citizens. If he had not been a prince, they probably would have treated him with a lot more than glares. No one noticed, and Odin had passed it off as Loki being paranoid.

Odin.

The man's betrayal burned hotter than any star.

That day in the vault played over and over.

"_Am I cursed?" Loki asked, turning around._

"_No."_

"_What am I?" Instead of pink, Loki's skin was a sharp blue, and his eyes blazed crimson._

"_You are my son," Odin said without faltering. _

"_What more than that?" Loki snarled as his skin turned back to Aesir pink. "The Casket wasn't the only thing you took from Jotunheim that day, was it?"_

"_No. In the aftermath of the battle I went into the temple and I found a baby. Small for a Giant's offspring, abandoned, suffering, left to die. Laufey's son."_

"_Laufeyson?" the God of Mischief said slowly._

"_Yes."_

"_Why? You were knee-deep in Jotun blood. Why would you take me?"_

"_You were an innocent child," The Allfather tried to reason with his son._

"_No," Loki glared. "You took me for a purpose. What was it?" _

_Odin was silent._

"_TELL ME!"_

"_I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day. Bring about an alliance; bring about permanent peace... through you."_

_Loki eyes watered. "What?"_

"_But those plans no longer matter."_

_It felt like a punch to the stomach. "So I am no more than another stolen relic, locked up here until you might have use of me?"_

"_Why do you twist my words?"_

"_You could have told me what I was from the beginning! Why didn't you?" Loki demanded, his voice breaking._

"_You're my son... I wanted only to protect you from the truth..." Odin looked down on his youngest with sad eyes. Well eye._

"_What, because I... I... I am the monster parents tell their children about at night?"_

It felt like he was back there, standing in the vault before the Casket of Ancient Winters all over again, with Odin's stare piercing his very being. Loki narrowed his eyes and grits his teeth. Why was he getting so worked up?

"Maybe you really are a monster," Amora purred. "Just accept it, Loki."

Monster.

Monster…

MONSTER.

Loki clutched his head, trying to block out Amora's voice. _No, this isn't right… I…_

Cupping her hands around Loki's pale face, Amora's eyes locked onto his emerald ones, forcing him to look at her. But he really wasn't looking at her, he was looking at all the people that betrayed and mocked him while growing up. She held her fingertips up to his face, silently making a pattern in the air.

Doom had released Loki's arms, allowing Amora more access to the god.

"Just give in," she whispered. "You are not accepted on Asgard, Jotunheim, or Midgard. You don't really think they consider you their friend, do you?"

"Tony… he…"

Amora sneered, her lip curling. "Tony isn't your friend, he is only interested in your magic. All you are to him is a little science project."

Loki dug his hands into his hair, trying desperately to keep calm.

"Look at this place. Thor was banished here, and what did he find? A woman. A human woman was able to change his arrogant ways so that he could regain his honor. Weren't you trying to do that at his coronation? But he changed for a woman he had only just met, instead of his brother, who stood by him for hundreds of years." Amora traced Loki's jaw with an immaculate nail. "It must hurt to be second best to everyone, including Thor."

Something inside of Loki snapped in that instant.

Anger boiled to the surface, an anger that Loki had thought had disappeared once he had met Tony and the Avengers. But here it was, fueling his temper, controlling his actions. Loki snarled and turned his gaze onto the city.

Midgard would burn.

Amora watched with glee as Loki's eyes slowly turned from a bright emerald green to a deeper shade, almost to the point of black, as his anger washed over his features. Everything was going according to plan.

Behind his metal mask, Doom wore a triumphant smirk. "Good work," he said.

Amora shrugged. "All he needed was a little push."

* * *

_Present…_

Tony groaned as his suit came back online. That blast from Victor really messed with the system. Standing up, he activated his thrusters and took off from the destroyed school building. When he scanned the city, he saw more fires than before Doom hand sent him hurdling.

"What in the world?"

The fire was green.

"_Tony!"_

Stark opened communications.

"_Oh thank God!"_ Clint yelled in his ear.

"What is it Barton?" Tony growled. "Why haven't you guys put out the fires yet?"

"_We did!"_ Barton snapped. "_But your Norse boyfriend has gone psycho and started blowing up the city!"_

Tony stopped. "What did you say?"

"_Look around you, Iron Head!"_

Iron Man's eyes grew wide as he noticed all the fires around the city were green.

Green.

Loki.

* * *

"Loki, stop!" Cap yelled as he dodged another blast of fire. "We're your friends! Remember?"

The god seemed to ignore him as he launched another vicious attack at the captain. He multiplied himself so there were twenty copies surrounding Steve. Captain America stopped, he didn't know which was the real one.

Loki struck like lightning.

Steve was thrown five hundred meters down the road, and sent crashing into an office building as Nat and Clint jumped the Norse deity. Loki teleported and sent them flying with his spear. Natasha dodged and aimed a kick at his head. He sidestepped it, grabbed his arm and threw her at Clint.

The ground trembled and split open under their feet, as Loki continued his assault. Thunder clouds over head crackled as Thor sped towards his brother. He swung his hammer, not actually trying to hurt Loki. The God of Mischief sensed this, and sent a torrent of fire at Thor, knocking him back.

Thor didn't know what to do. None of this made sense. Loki had forgiven him. Why was he doing this? The God of Thunder was shocked at the amount of anger that radiated off his younger brother. He didn't think it was possible for someone to house that much negative energy inside themselves.

"Brother! What has happened?" Thor shouted.

Loki didn't say anything as he danced like the wind around Thor, sending fireball after fireball into the other god. If it wasn't for this situation, it would have been beautiful.

There was a mighty roar, and the Hulk came barreling at Loki, who just sneered. He wrapped a rope of pure magic around the green beast and tightened it. Hulk roared and tried to break free to no avail. Loki snapped his fingers and the Hulk found himself next to Captain America.

The Avengers tried attacking in unison, but Loki still just beat them back, with clones, fire, his spear, and knives. No matter what the Warriors Three and Thor were concerned, Loki was a fierce warrior, and he was showing it.

The god was light on his feet, and every attack seemed to miss him or deflect. He was never in the same place for too long which made it hard to pinpoint him. It was like catching the wind with a butterfly net, it couldn't be done.

Loki smirked as Steve and Bruce went down and didn't get up. Two down three to go.

He sent another tremor through the earth, causing many of the surrounding buildings to buckle and collapse. The next four blocks nearly cracked in half as Loki's anger rose. Clint and Natasha dove away from falling debris and Thor grabbed Steve and Bruce to protect them. The god rose in the air and let loose a barrage of green fire that decimated anything in a three mile radius.

He fired blast after blast, smoke billowed from the impact zones, stinging the Avenger's eyes.

"LOKI!"

The god turned as Stark landed behind him, the faceplate springing up.

"Good to see you Anthony," Loki chuckled darkly. "Come to see what I have done with your city? It looks better this way."

"Why are you doing this?" Tony shouted. "We're supposed to be the good guys!"

Loki slowly tilted his head and smirked. "I am the god of Chaos and Mischief," he said, as if it would answer every question on earth.

"You're an Avenger!" Tony roared. "We save people! Remember? Ding, ding, earth to Loki?"

Loki narrowed his eyes.

Clint and Natasha jumped from behind the god, trying to subdue him, but Loki was faster. He reached into the void and grabbed the Casket from its resting place. He unleashed the bitter cold, freezing both assassins up to their necks. Then he did the same for Thor, Steve, and the Hulk, who had just recovered. Satisfied, he placed it back in the void for safe keeping.

"Now, there's only one," Loki smiled at the genius.

"Loki! When I get outta here, you are _SO_ not allowed to play Halo with me anymore!" Clint shouted and tried to wiggle free. "And I'm taking back the PSP I gave to you!"

"Prioritize much?" Natasha scoffed.

"I try."

Loki rained blow after blow on the Man of Iron, who tried only to block and deflect. He really didn't want to hurt his best friend. Tony's mind was working overtime as he tried to figure this out. Then he spotted it.

The god's eyes were different.

_I'm sure Loki's usually aren't that dark, _Tony thought. _No, I'm freaking positive that they were lighter._

A rumble behind him caused Tony to turn and look for a second. A huge portal had opened and what looked like giants were climbing out.

"Frost Giants," Thor growled.

"Amora must have sent Loki here to distract us while they opened the portal," Captain reasoned.

"Tony! Knock some sense into your boy toy and make it fast!"

"Shut up Clint!"

Tony caught Loki's spear and punched him back. "Loki! That's enough!"

The god only pressed on, throwing knives instead.

They were easily knocked aside by Tony's gauntlet. "Would you stop being a total asshole and listen to me?"

Loki knocked Tony's feet out from underneath him, causing him to crash to his knees.

"Now, kneel before me, mortal," Loki snarled. "Just like the rest of this pitiful planet will."

"Uh, newsflash, bucko," Tony glared up at the god. "This 'pitiful planet' is your home! You've been living here for a year!"

"I have no home," Loki growled. "Now if you'll excuse me," he raised his spear.

Tears were threatening to fall from Tony's eyes as he shouted. "YOUR HOME IS WITH _ME_!" He smashed his fists into the ground, his head bowing forward almost touching together.

Loki froze.

Tony had said "me", not "us" like he had said when he was trying to convince Thor to let the god stay on earth. He said "me."

"You belong with me, Loki," Tony said softly, tears hitting the ground.

"I belong nowhere! I was left to die in the cold by them man that is my so-called father! Then I was lied to for hundreds of years by the man who claimed to _be_ my father!"

"If Odin never took you in you would have died!"

"MAYBE I SHOULD HAVE!"

Tony whispered. "Then I would never have met you, Loki. I don't think I could take that."

Loki said nothing, nor did he move.

"I know you don't consider Asgard your home anymore, and Jotunheim is out of the question," Tony reasoned. "So why don't you make your new home here? I mean, you have been living here for a year under my roof."

Loki shook his head, there was a dense fog around his mind, clouding everything, and it hurt.

"Just please come back."

Tony didn't need to add, "to me", at the end of his sentence, everyone knew it.

The god fell down in front of Tony, he tossed his helmet aside, and clawed at his head, trying to drive the fog out somehow. Tony watched in horror and Loki writhed on the ground in front of him. He took off his gloves and grabbed Loki's arms, if only to stop him from injuring himself further.

"Loki, stop it's all right. Everything is all right."

Loki groaned in pain as his eyes stared up at Tony's. The god kept shifting between his Jotun form and his Aesir one so fast that it was giving Tony whiplash.

"Hey, hey," he whispered. "Your home is with me," Tony repeated. "So forget about Asgard and Jotunheim, earth is your home now." He placed his hands on either side of Loki's head, trying to calm him.

Loki stopped seizing in the genius' arms and returned to his normal Aesir color. His eyes slowly melted back into their emerald color, and Tony smiled.

"Good to have you back, Reindeer Games."

Loki stared up at Tony. "Good to be back, Tony."

"Oh just kiss already!" Clint shouted at the two. "And get us outta here! I'm freezing my ass off!"

"Is that all?" Natasha smirked.

"Shut it!" Clint snapped.

"Enough you two," Cap admonished. Sometimes he felt like he was a babysitter.

Loki waved his hand, and the ice instantly disappeared.

"Brother!" Thor boomed and gathered his sibling in a huge, bone-crushing hug. Loki's eyes felt like they were going to pop out of his skull. "I'm so glad that you are all right!"

"Thanks," Loki choked out. "Put me down."

"My apologies," Thor said.

"Uh," Clint shouted. "Sorry to break up the family reunion and all, but there are giants running around New York City."

Loki glared. "I will handle Doom. Thor, you stop Amora, with them both out of the picture, the portal should close."

"What do we do?" Captain America asked, he felt weird taking orders instead of giving them.

The god thought for a moment. "Take out the Frost Giants. Just don't touch them, your hands will turn black."

"Great," Clint drawled as he hooked an arrow in his bow. "My kinda party."

* * *

Loki flew straight towards his target, and he was pissed. The masked man in that ridiculous outfit barely had a second to react before Loki literally bowled him over. Doom and the Norse god went crashing into a tall skyscraper as Thor swung his mighty hammer and sent Amora into the bay.

There was dust everywhere as Loki struggled to see where he was. Out of nowhere lightning hit him in the chest knocking him back against a wall. He groaned.

"You ruined everything!" Doom snarled.

"Oops," Loki smirked, and regained his footing. He struck back with his spear, driving Victor backwards. "I think I owed you for beating me up when I was powerless a few months ago."

Doom shot more lightning at the Trickster, who threw up a shield just in time. Loki lunged and drove his spear into Doom's shoulder. He cursed when it stuck in the armor and Doom sent bolts of lightning coursing through the god's body. It's a good thing he grew up with Thor, being struck by lightning was a regular occurrence for him. But it still didn't make the pain any less potent.

The metal masked man grabbed the spear from his shoulder as if it were nothing and turned it on its owner. Loki's eyes widened as his weapon was rammed through his abdomen. The god gasped, blood falling from his lips, as Victor sneered in delight. The sick freak.

Doom brought his gauntlet down, knocking Loki's horned helmet off his head and sent it skidding away. Emerald eyes were still in disbelief as the god fell on the cold cement. Doom stood over his opponent, preparing to deliver the final blow.

Loki quickly yanked his spear free from his stomach and with all his strength, slammed it into Doom's helmet. The blow hit Victor like a semi-truck, he was knocked off his feet, and crumpled to the ground in a heap.

The God of Mischief sank to the ground, using his spear to support him, breathing heavily as he worked to heal his wound. Afterwards he was completely drained, and it showed. Sweat lined his brow and it felt like he had just ran a marathon around Asgard.

"Hey there, Dasher."

Loki looked up slowly. "I think you're just making those up now."

Tony landed next to the god. "Nope. They are all real. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen. Actually, Santa has nine reindeer though with Rudolph."

It was a shame that Loki didn't have a clue in the world to what Tony was talking about.

"We should go help the others," Loki said, as he tried to stumble to his feet. "They must be having trouble."

Tony flipped his faceplate down and took off with the god following.

It took about forty-five minutes to dispatch the remaining giants. Luckily the portal was small so that it only allowed one to travel to Midgard at a time. With Doom and Amora gone it wasn't a problem anymore. Nick Fury was escorting the two criminals back to SHIELD while the Avengers tended to their wounds.

Loki sat at the bar, twirling his index finger around the rim of his drink.

He had almost destroyed the city.

The rage and bitterness that he still harbored in his soul almost brought the city that he grew quite fond of to its knees. He hated himself, and he didn't know how to fix it. His hand around the glass froze over and smashed to pieces.

"That was waste of good scotch."

Loki turned his gaze to the genius. "I'm not in the mood, Stark." He said wearily.

"Oh ho," Tony said as he took a seat next to the Norse god. "I'm 'Stark' now?"

"Not in the mood," Loki repeated.

"You know they don't blame you, right?"

"It doesn't matter," the god muttered. "It doesn't change the fact that I almost leveled the city."

"So? Bruce has almost done that too."

Loki said nothing.

"C'mon," Tony said and dragged the deity towards the living room. "I'll prove it."

Clint perked up. "Hey! I was kidding about not letting you play Halo with me. I was just about to start a round." He motioned for Loki to come next to him.

Loki just stared at the archer.

"If you keep making that face, it'll stay that way."

"I apologize for-"

"Don't worry, Loki," Bruce waved his hand. "Been there, don't that."

"How can you be so forgiving?" The God of Mischief questioned.

Natasha shrugged. "The way I see it, we have all have done things that we aren't proud of. Clint and I have a list that would probably stretch along the Equator and beyond."

The marksman nodded. "It's true."

"And you know me," Tony said casually. "Merchant of Death and all."

Bruce looked at the floor sheepishly. "And I think I destroyed Harlem, it was a bad day."

"And you know better than anyone, brother," Thor said solemnly, "of the wrong doings I have committed."

Tony looked at Steve, who was desperately trying to find something to pin on himself. He scrunched his face, deep in thought. It was kinda adorable. Poor Cap.

"Uh…I…"

Tony eyes brightened. "If I recall correctly, you applied for the army under false information. That is quite punishable my friend. It's fraud."

"And I killed people during the war," Steve admitted. "Even if it was for a good cause, I still did it."

"You see Loki?" Natasha asked. "We all have a lot of red staining our lives. The trick is looking towards the next day, because maybe that one will be a little bit brighter."

Loki slumped down on the ground in front of where Tony was sitting on the couch, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He was among friends who had committed as many wrongs as he had. That anger that he had felt earlier, he never wanted to feel that way again. He promised himself that his rage would never control his actions, he would lock it away.

"Here," Clint said and tossed Loki and Thor a controller.

"What is this mortal device?" Thor asked, examining the bit of plastic.

Clint laughed. "I'll show ya big guy."

The archer thought the best way to explain the game to Thor was to play it. It was kinda like how Clint thought you should teach children to swim, by throwing them into the deep end. It was hilarious watching the Thunder God constantly die, and Thor would blame it on the buttons being too small.

Clint and Loki were tied for most of the match.

The others sitting there occupied themselves with other activities. Steve was reading the newspaper and Natasha and Bruce were doing a crossword puzzle for some reason. Tasha soon got bored with that and proceeded to poke Clint every other second, prompting the archer to almost bite her finger off out of frustration when it came to close to his mouth.

Tony on the other hand, busied himself by playing with the God of Mischief's long, raven hair. It was so smooth and silky that he was convinced that Loki had a special spell that made it that way. He twirled it around and made himself a mustache out of it.

"Tony, you need to stop that," Loki deadpanned, never taking his eyes of the television. "You are a grown man."

Tony smirked. "That's what they keep telling me."

Loki snorted.

The engineer stroked the god's hair, silently wishing he could say what was on the tip of his tongue. He didn't think he'd ever said it to anyone, well, besides Pepper and his mother.

_I love you, Loki, _Tony thought, but he could not for the life of him get his mouth to work properly.

Clint was about to make a shot that would put him in the lead when the characters stopped and started talking to Thor. The Thunderer jumped up and started shouting about sorcery and magic, which he wasn't wrong about.

"Goddammit, Loki!" Clint shouted at the top of his lungs. "I told you that you can't do that anymore! It's cheating and it's mean!"

Loki smirked. "I do what I want."

* * *

_Now you're here,_

_And everything's changing._

_Suddenly life means so much,_

_I can't wait, to wake up tomorrow,_

_And find out this promise is true._

_I will never have to go back to,_

_The day before you._

* * *

There is chapter 3, it is now Frostiron. I'm sorry if you do not support that pairing. Please accept my sincerest apologies.

Loki finally got his revenge on Doom. Yay.

As always, feedback is appreciated.

- Nicholls


	4. What About Now

**What About Now**

"_Every moment and every event of every man's life on earth plants something in his soul."_- Thomas Merton

* * *

Loki remembered everything that has ever happened to him in the millennia that he has been alive. He remembers his mother's face, his father's harsh tone, and Thor's naïve opinions of the world. His life has not been the easy path that Thor has walked since he was born. The trickster was excluded from activities because of his small stature and lack of muscles, something that he hasn't yet forgiven the Warriors Three and Sif for.

The Void.

The very mention of that horrid place sent a shiver down the god's neck and made his hair stand on end. Loki never did find out exactly how long he was in there. He didn't really remember much about being there, maybe his mind thought that was for the best.

He did however, remember falling to Midgard.

Tony.

"_HOLY SHIT!"_

_Oh look, he could hear again. _

_Loki tried to push himself to his feet, but soon found that he did not have the strength to even open his eyes to see where he was. _

"_Are you okay? Where in the hell did you come from buddy?"_

_There was that voice again. _

_The god clenched his teeth. "Where am I?"_

_The voice said nothing at first. "Malibu. California? The United States? Earth? Ring any bells there?"_

_Ah, Midgard, that explains the annoying voice in front of him._

"_Midgard," Loki said softly. He had landed in the realm of humans._

"_Mid- what?" _

Loki smiled, he should have known better than to use the other name for this planet. No wonder the mortal was confused.

"_So you're Loki. I'm gonna have to google you, because I don't think I remember anything from Freshman English class. Anyway, I'll help you to one of the many spare rooms."_

That reminded him, he never did ask Tony what 'Google' was, nor did he find out what a 'Freshman' was. He made a mental note to ask the engineer later on. Loki turned his weary gaze back out on the sunrise that was occurring in New York City. It really was beautiful, so full of life.

"_Good morning, Sunshine!" He announced, then stopped dead in his tracks. "Uh, dude, you're blue."_

_Loki turned in the direction of the voice and widened his crimson eyes in surprise._

"_Don't worry about it," Tony said dismissively. "We found this guy who had been frozen in ice for seventy years, he was pretty blue too."_

"_You are not afraid of me?" Loki said slowly. It was a new feeling. Tony had no idea what a Frost Giant was, but he still wasn't afraid. _

_At least in this condition, I won't have to look at myself in this form._

_Tony shrugged. "I'm used to freaky stuff."_

"_I see."_

_Tony paled. "Not that you're freaky!" He said quickly. "I like blue, blue is good. Though I prefer red and gold, but hey, that's me. Anyway, doctor, yes a doctor would be a good thing. Wait, since you're not human a doctor would be pointless, so scratch that. Are you in any pain? Of course you are. Um, you hungry? I am. I could go for some waffles or something. God, Tony stop talking."_

The genius was not afraid the first time he saw his Jotun form, it was surprising. On Asgard, Frost Giants were monsters, on Earth however… it seemed like it was the logical step was to make the giant waffles. That was Tony's method anyway.

Tony, the idiot.

He stood up to the Allfather for him. No one had actually cared that much for him, besides Frigga and Thor. The tiny mortal man stared Odin down and didn't take "no" for an answer. There was something about Midgard that made Norse deities change, Loki couldn't put his finger on just what that was.

"_Now, kneel before me, mortal," Loki snarled. "Just like the rest of this pitiful planet will."_

"_Uh, newsflash, bucko," Tony glared up at the god. "This 'pitiful planet' is your home! You've been living here for a year!"_

"_I have no home," Loki growled. "Now if you'll excuse me," he raised his spear. _

_Tears were threatening to fall from Tony's eyes as he shouted. "YOUR HOME IS WITH ME!"_

Loki couldn't shake the guilt after he attacked his friends and the city. Everyone kept saying, "it wasn't your fault." But he knew differently. It _was_ him. He could see as the city burned and how he lashed out at the Avengers. Part of him wanted to cause destruction, that part he was afraid of.

The autumn air was cool on his skin, not that he could actually feel it really, being a Frost Giant did come in handy sometimes. His long legs dangled over the railing as he sat idly as the sun made its triumphal entrance. The rest of the tower was still asleep, except for probably Steve, he was always an early riser.

A sudden jolt of pain rippled through his body, causing the god to wince. Loki shrugged it off as an aftereffect of yesterday's difficult battle against Dr. Octopus. Wasn't he that spider kid's problem anyway? Though, he thought, the good doctor was armed with an army courtesy of Doom. Why SHIELD didn't just kill their most powerful villains, Loki will never understand. Odin would have executed anyone that threatened Asgard's peace. Maybe SHIELD being different than the place he grew up wasn't a bad thing after all.

"Jarvis, is anyone awake?" Loki asked the AI.

"_No sir,"_ came the reply. _"Though Captain Rogers is stirring. Is something the matter?"_

Loki shook his head. "No, thank you though, Jarvis."

"_My pleasure, sir."_

Tony really had designed the perfect butler, Loki chuckled lightly. He remembered what his mother had asked him the night before he departed.

"_Are you happy with them?"_

_Loki didn't miss a beat. "Yes."_

"_Is it because of Tony Stark?"_

What was it he felt towards Anthony Edward Stark?

Clint had made fun of Tony for days after he found out the engineer's middle name. He kept calling him a "sparkly vampire", "stalker", and "disco ball," which Loki didn't understand. Natasha had taken pity on him and handed the god a book with two hands and an apple on it. Loki came back twenty minutes later raving about how God awful the "book" was. He had said that he had known William Shakespeare and F. Scott Fitzgerald and if he could, he would bring them back to life so they could instruct this horrible author on how to write properly.

Though, the entire Tony name calling ceased immediately once he found out Clint's middle name was Francis.

"I didn't choose it."

That was all the archer had to say on the matter.

Loki turned around on the railing so the sun was to his back. He was contemplating on what to do now, hopefully this city could stay problem free for one day. Maybe a walk would help clear his head.

"Well, you're up early."

Loki looked up. "I don't need to sleep as much as you."

Tony walked forward, shutting the sliding door behind him. "I've said that too, Pepper never bought it."

"Yes," Loki smiled. "But you are human."

"Touché."

Tony saw the sun lighting the Norse god's slender frame. It was breathtaking, to say the very least. There was a slight breeze and it whipped a few strands of raven colored hair into Loki's face, which he then brushed back and tucked behind his ear. He told his mind to screw it, and run forward towards the god and just touch him. Though it seemed that his body was not cooperating, it felt like he was frozen in place.

Loki stared at the billionaire, an eyebrow lightly raised in a questioning manner.

Of all the times for Tony's brain to shut down.

"Well," Loki said slowly. "If you don't mind, I'm going to take a walk."

Still nothing.

Loki nodded farewell to Tony and gracefully fell backwards off the tower and vanished.

"You know there is a thing called _STAIRS_!" Tony yelled over the side of the building.

Oh, so _now_ his voice deems it appropriate to work. Wonderful.

Also note to self, talk to Natasha about what she's been teaching Loki.

* * *

Loki walked through Central Park glancing at objects aimlessly as they passed. He didn't know what he wanted exactly. Did he really want Tony? Everybody seemed to think that, including Thor, and he was usually pretty dense. Is the genius really what he wanted in life?

_One day, Tony will die, _Loki thought to himself. _His lifespan is nothing compared to mine. I've lived a hundred of his lifetimes._

The god took a seat on a park bench and watched a flock of birds over by a fountain. He smiled. They didn't have a care in the world, in a way he was jealous.

He flinched again and grabbed his side. Maybe he should go back to the tower to rest, and probably take it easy in the next battle. But as soon as he thought about it, the pain vanished. Perhaps it was nothing after all.

If it was nothing, then why couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him.

* * *

"What have you been teaching Loki?" Tony said as he stormed into the kitchen a few hours later.

Natasha schooled her face in a mask of surprise and innocence. "What ever do you mean Tony?"

Tony scowled. "Don't try that, it's not a good look on you."

Tasha smirked.

"Teach Loki what?" Clint said with a mouthful of cereal, Lucky Charms to be exact.

"Apparently, Loki is jumping off buildings," Captain America supplied helpfully. "Tony doesn't really find it amusing."

"Oh that," the archer replied. "Yeah, that was a fun day."

"You knew?" Tony shouted.

Clint shrugged. "Of course. It's not like he can actually hurt himself."

"That's not the point," Tony muttered.

"What is your problem?" Clint eyed the genius.

Tony threw them all a nasty glare and stormed out of the room.

Banner blinked slowly. "I'm not sure what just happened."

Clint just kept eating his cereal.

* * *

Steve walked down the Stark's private lab and entered the password. He found Tony hunched over his desk and a dozen computer screens flashing. The captain stopped trying to understand the engineer a long time ago. Technology just wasn't his thing.

"Tony?" he tried, but he couldn't even hear himself think over the loud blaring of Tony's Black Sabbath album. "TONY!"

At the sound of his name, Tony flipped his faceplate up and turned down the music.

"What?"

"Do you want to talk about what just happened?"

"No," Tony replied, flipped the plate back down, and continued welding.

Steve grabbed the device from him. "It wasn't a question."

Tony glared.

"It's about Loki right?"

Tony said nothing.

"You are acting like a child."

The genius stuck his tongue out.

Steve frowned. "Oh, you proved me wrong," he said sarcastically.

"Go away, Steve."

The soldier wasn't having any of Tony's shit today. "Not until you tell me what's wrong."

What was Tony supposed to say? Oh hey Steve, I'm think I'm in love with the God of Mischief, and up until recently I thought I was straight. And by the way he probably doesn't feel the same way about me because he is an all-powerful Norse god, and I'm just a lowly human who will die in a couple decades.

"You wouldn't understand, boy scout."

"Try me."

Tony frowned and set his facemask down on the table.

"I think I'm in love with Loki."

Steve blinked. "What?"

This was going to be a long conversation.

* * *

It was a shame that a super villain decided to wake up early and terrorize the poor, still sleeping city. The loud jerked Steve out of his train of thought, and he turned his stare to Tony, as if to say: "We're not done yet."

Tony ran for his armor and Steve leaped up the stairs five at a time to put on his suit. He passed Clint and Natasha who were all fully dressed and ready to go. Something about being world class assassins meant that they were always one step ahead, even to a super soldier.

The God of Thunder dropped his Pop Tarts mid-bite, and hefted Mjölnir over his head, instantly armor formed around his shirt and pajama pants. The archer scowled slightly, he was a little jealous that Thor could just magically clothe himself. Tasha elbowed him, hard, and told him to move.

"Where's Loki?" Banner asked once the team was loaded on the Quinjet.

Everyone looked at the billionaire.

Tony glared. "What? I don't know."

"You're piss-poor attitude is really getting on my nerves," Clint griped as he notched an arrow in his bow.

Iron Man was about to get up when Captain America grabbed his gauntlet and forced him to stay sitting.

"Guys," he said, all soldier. "We are a team, remember?"

No one had time to comment on the matter because the jet lurched to a halt, and the pilot announced that they had landed. All arguing was set aside as explosions rocked the ship, and Bruce almost tripped and hulked out.

"Come friends!" Thor's voice echoed around the aircraft. "Let us begin this glorious day right!"

Clint jumped off the ship after the battle-crazed Asgardian. "This is NOT how I would spend my Monday!"

It seemed that Dr. Octopus was back for round two, and he was pissed. The Avengers climbed out of the ship to find that the madman had tore up most of the main road and his goons were holding a bus full of school children hostage. Typical Monday morning.

"Where the hell is that spider kid?" Clint shouted as he took down one of the Doctor's henchman. "This is his problem, not ours!"

Natasha appeared beside him, seemingly out of nowhere. "Fury's got him doing something else."

There was a mighty roar and they say Thor flying straight at Dr. Octopus.

"At least someone is having fun."

* * *

Loki's ears perked up at the sound of explosions and gunshots. He waved his hands and his Asgardian armor flared to life, green cape, horns, and all. A young boy with his mother started pointing excitedly and pulled on her sleeve.

"Mom! Mom! I think that's Loki!" The boy smiled. "The other Avengers must be here too!"

The Trickster saluted to the kid and vanished. Loki always had a soft spot for children, maybe it was because he never had a chance to raise his.

A few seconds later, he reappeared in the middle of the chaotic battle and was almost knocked over by a stray car. Dammit Thor!

"Loki!" Cap said as he dove for cover. Doom had loaned some of his Doombots to the doctor and they were causing serious damage.

"Hello, Captain," Loki said smoothly. "Having trouble?"

Clint fell to the ground when a piece of shrapnel embedded itself in his right thigh. He rolled over and shot an arrow at the damn robot. "No, no!" He growled. "We are all peachy!"

Loki smirked lightly.

"I'm serious Goat Man, get your ass in this battle and help us!"

"As you wish," Loki replied.

"And that is the last time I let you watch the _Princess_ _Bride_!"

There was a thunderous blast, and waves of Doombots were thrown backwards as Thor swung his mighty hammer. The Thunderer howled in delight.

"Brother! Come join me in battle!" Thor shouted merrily.

My God, there must be hundreds of those tin cans.

Iron Man kept blasting and blasting every one of those heaps of metal that came within his reach. He was angry. No that was an understatement. Tony was furious. The thing was, he really had no right to be. Loki really had done nothing wrong, but Tony needed someone to blame.

He glanced over and saw said God of Mischief running towards the school bus. Tony turned and flew towards another horde of bots, trying to ignore the little voice in his head that said he was being a total idiot.

Dr. Octopus had wrapped his metal limbs around the bus and was slowly crushing it, kids inside and all. The god raced forward at the children's scared screams, he promised that he would not let that man harm even one of them.

"Loki," Octopus leered and strengthened his hold.

Loki glared. "Let the children go."

Doc Oc smiled, his jagged teeth showing. "If you say so."

The Norse god's eyes widened as the doctor tossed the bus into the air as if were a toy. Loki moved on instinct. He didn't notice the detonators on the underside of the vehicle until it was too late. There was no time for thinking, he just acted.

Quickly, Loki formed a shield around the bombs to contain the blast. The children's shouts of horror was the only thing that he could hear right now, he had to save them, he _had_ to. They were innocent lives that had their whole lives to look forward to, and dammit, Loki wanted to make sure they got that chance.

The timers hit zero and the blast almost knocked the god off his feat, but his shields held firm.

"Brother!"

Thor battled his way past the Doombots towards his brother, the rest of the team were behind him.

Loki felt a trickle of blood run down his nose. That was weird, normally his spells didn't force himself to exercise this much energy or concentration. Suddenly he felt his hold on the shield flicker ever so slightly. The same thing happened in the last battle.

He turned and looked toward the Avengers before he teleported away with the bombs. The bus, with nothing left to hold it up, fell to the ground, only to be caught by Bruce. The Hulk gently lowered the bus and the children onto the pavement.

Thor roared as Loki disappeared from his sight. He charged forward and swung Mjölnir at the doctor, knocking him back into a building.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY BROTHER?" Thor gripped the man by his shirt collar. "TELL ME WHAT YOU HAVE DONE WITH THE SON OF ODIN!"

Octopus coughed. "Nothing."

Thor felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Thor stop, this isn't going to help anything," Captain tried to reason with the Asgardian.

The Thunder God released his hold as SHIELD agents arrived to bring him into custody.

"But my brother-"

"Thor," Steve said reassuringly "I'm sure he just teleported the bombs away from the bus. He'll be back."

As soon as Captain America uttered those words an explosion rocked the city. The team jerked towards the bay as a cloud rose above the water. Behind them, Dr. Octopus cackled evilly.

Thor's icy glare could have frozen hell if he had tried.

"There was enough power in those bombs to level a small town. Your brother is dead!"

Steve had to hold the god back as he tried to smite the tiny man in front of him. And by "smite", he probably meant "beat the living daylights out of with Mjölnir."

As if this day couldn't get any worse. Tony sank to his knees, Loki could be dead, and he had acted like such an arrogant jerk! He tried the communication link, desperately hoping the god had remembered to put the damn thing in his ear.

"Loki!" Tony shouted, his voice breaking. "Loki, answer me you son of a bitch!"

The two assassins staggered into the picture, Natasha was supporting Clint with his injured leg. She wasn't looking that great either. They both stared at the billionaire as he frantically tried to get into contact with their teammate.

"Loki!" Tony tried again. "C'mon!"

All he could hear on the other end was static.

* * *

On AO3, the past three chapters have been seperate stories, and this one is a seperate one all together. I just figured on FF, it's easier to keep them all in together since there is no series option on this site.

Anyway, hope you like it, and feedback is always appreciated.

- Nicholls


	5. Hanging By a Moment

**Hanging By a Moment**

In that very moment, Tony Stark's world seemed to flow in slow motion. He kept repeating Loki's name over and over again, as if saying it enough times would make the god appear in front of him. Tony yelled at Jarvis, ordering him to fix the connection, but the AI only replied that the water was interfering with the signal.

The other Avengers were helping evacuate the children from the bus, the kids that Loki had been so hell-bent on saving.

Tony couldn't just stand here, he snapped his helmet in place, and readied his thrusters. He blasted off into the sky towards the bay with Thor close behind.

"Cap," Tony said into the link. "Ready the Quinjet to pick us up."

A pause. "Roger that," came the reply.

If it had been under different circumstances, Tony would have pointed out the pun to the oblivious Captain. Instead, he just pushed his suit to fly faster. Iron Man scanned the water as he flew over for any signs of life. Then he spotted something glinting in the morning sunlight.

Something gold.

Without thinking, Tony dove into the body of water, luckily his suit was waterproof. He looked around but only found the god's horned helmet. Tony cursed and continued searching, the blast had most likely knocked it off and its owner should be nearby.

Tony resurfaced to see if Thor was having any better luck. The Asgardian prince was hovering over the water, his head moving so fast Tony was wondering how he didn't break his neck. Thor wore a mask of fear, wondering if he'd ever see his brother again. It was a shame, they had only recently reconciled their differences, and Thor was happy to have his younger brother back with him.

He didn't know why, but Tony flew a few feet away from Thor and looked around. Something felt… strange.

There was a body floating in the water about a hundred meters away. Tony was there in an instant. He carefully scooped the wounded god into his arms, careful not to jostle him too much in case there were internal injuries.

Loki's face was pale, bruised, and covered in scorch marks. His uniform was almost shredded and his armor looked almost like charcoal. Tony slowly wiped Loki's black hair out of his face, if he concentrated hard enough, he could pretend the god was asleep instead of blown half to hell and back.

"Thor," Tony said, his voice shaking. "I've got him."

The prince let out a heavy sigh. "Thank the Norns."

"Cap, come and get us."

* * *

As soon as the team was back at the tower, Loki was rushed to the medical bay and Bruce was assisting the doctors there. Clint and Natasha also followed to tend to their wounds. Everyone else was relatively all right, except Steve had some cuts here and there, nothing he couldn't patch up on his own.

Tony stood outside Loki's room, watching as the doctors and Bruce examined the fallen god. They had hooked him up to any number of machines, and it made the engineer wince. He hated hospitals, even those that were inside his house.

Thor joined him after a few minutes, having already changed into a pair of jogging pants and a t-shirt. His eyes were full of grief and sadness, he looked like someone had told him that Santa wasn't real.

A half an hour later Bruce came out and explained the situation to them.

"He has extensive burns, fractures, and broken bones. The blast also caused severe trauma to his head and internal organs"

Tony gaped.

"But," Bruce said wearily. "I believe once his body has rested enough, his magic will fix the damage once it has a chance to replenish."

Right. Loki being a god and all. Sometimes, Tony forgot things like that.

Bruce saw the way that Tony was staring into the room.

"Tony, go take a shower, change your clothes. He won't be awake for at least a day."

The Genius-Billionaire-Playboy-Philanthropist only nodded, knowing it was pointless to argue with Banner. And if you did, well, it wasn't pretty.

"I will watch him," Thor said and placed a hand on Tony's shoulder. "If there is a change, I will find you with due haste, Man of Iron."

"Thank you, Thor," Tony replied softly and followed Bruce up the stairs.

* * *

Clint was upstairs firmly planted in the couch with an icepack on his left shoulder and a beer in his other hand. He was watching a movie that he's already seen a million times already.

"Barton, what have I told you about watching _The Hurt Locker_, again?" Tony growled as he poured himself a large glass of scotch.

"But it's such a great movie!"

Beside the archer, Natasha laughed and flicked him his bruised shoulder. That earned her a glare and a half-hearted punch.

"And what about you? Hmm?" Clint shot. "You've seen _The Prestige_ more times than I can count!"

"What can I say?" Natasha shrugged. "Christian Bale is one handsome man."

"And I'm not?"

"No, of course you are Barton," Tony smirked.

"Not helping, Tony."

"Really not trying," Stark replied and took a large gulp of his drink. He dropped down on the couch also, grabbing the remote from the archer as he did so. "My house, my rules."

"Hey!"

"Too bad Legolas," the engineer said as he sorted through his movies and saved television shows. "Build your own multimillion dollar tower and then you can watch whatever your heart desires."

"I hate you."

Tony blew the other man a kiss. "Nah, you love me. What would you guys do if I wasn't here?"

"Watch what I want," Clint muttered under his breath and crossed his arms like a moody teenager.

"What was that?" Tony smiled. He finally settled on the Science channel.

"Nothing."

* * *

A couple hours later, Clint and Natasha had fallen asleep because if they had to watch another episode of _How It's Made_, they were going to murder someone. And being world class assassins they could probably do just that and no leave any trace behind. Tony sometimes wondered how he lived with them under his roof.

After a while, Tony had stopped keeping count on how many he had watched and followed the assassins in sleeping. It had been a long, hard day, and it wasn't over yet.

* * *

Steve had come up from the gym to check on his teammates. He found Tony, Clint, and Natasha on the couch, dead to the world. Grabbing the remote, he switched the TV off and went to find Thor. The Captain found him sitting next to Loki's beside, casually playing with his weapon and muttering something Steve couldn't understand.

It must be Old Norse or something.

"How is he?"

Thor looked up, it seemed like he didn't even notice the other man until Steve was standing right next to him.

"Better," Thor sighed. "It may take some time for his magic to recover."

"Recover?" Steve asked. "You talk about it as if it were a separate person."

Thor chuckled. "Loki is magic, my friend. And magic is Loki. They are one in the same." The prince remembered growing up with his brother. How he was disappointed that Loki did not excel in physical exercises like he did. "When were small, Loki was often mocked for using magic."

Steve made a face, he remembered what it was like to be bullied because of his size and strength. "That's awful. Did you stop it?"

"No, I'm sad to say," Thor said solemnly. "Do not judge me too harshly Captain Rogers, my friends and I were young and naïve. I did not see that Loki excelled in other areas of combat. He could not help who he was, just as you cannot help being noble and brave, it was a part of him. I see that now."

"Do your friends see that as well?" Steve wondered.

Thor shrugged. "I am not positive. Though, looking back, we would not have survived as many adventures as we did without Loki."

A beat.

"You must be hungry," Steve smiled. "I'll make us something for dinner."

Thor spared his brother a long look before he stood up. "Thank you Captain, that is most generous of you."

The two blond men walked out of the room and quietly closed the door behind them. Little did they know, that Loki was semi-conscious for some of that conversation.

* * *

A couple days past, and nothing has changed on Loki's condition. The god was as fine as he could be; his magic had mended most of his significant injuries. So he was out of the woods for the time being. Thor had hardly left his side and had to be dragged out by Jane and Darcy, who came to visit.

"Thor," Jane pleaded. "You have to eat something, and please take a shower."

The God of Thunder finally caved, and followed his girlfriend out of the room.

"Don't worry big guy," Darcy smiled. "I promise to keep watch." She saluted.

Thor only nodded. It was only a few days ago that he had made the same argument to the Man of Iron. But he trusted Darcy and Jane with his life, so Loki should be safe with them, even if it was Darcy.

Darcy plopped down on the chair and crossed her legs on the bed. Drumming her fingers on the armrests, she surveyed the god lying in front of her. He was ungodly tall it looked like, she estimated around six foot two. Unruly, raven framed his pale, pointed face, and that's all she could see because of the sheet.

The girl internally pouted.

Loki for all intents and purposes was damn fine looking. It was a shame that when she and Jane arrived Tony checked them over to make sure they weren't sick or anything, because it could hinder Loki's recovery. Darcy had just rolled her eyes. She recognized that look in the billionaire's eyes.

Darcy's internal musings were cut short when Loki slowly opened his eyes.

"Why hello there," Darcy purred.

Loki fixed her with a quizzical stare.

"Oh right," Darcy mentally slapped herself. "I'm Darcy, Jane's friend."

Loki stared.

"Jane. Thor's Jane."

Ah, and the light bulb went on in the Norse god's head. This woman was friends with Thor's moral companion.

"You also may have tried to kill us in New Mexico," Darcy supplied.

"Oh," Loki mumbled, his voice was rough from days of disuse. "I apologize for that, I was having a um…"

"Bad day?"

Loki smiled. "Yes, you could say that."

"Well, the past is the past," the intern shrugged and examined her nails. "I'm really not one to hold grudges, especially when the god is so hot."

It wasn't common knowledge to Loki that his cheeks could feel so warm, especially since he was a Frost Giant and his body temperature was naturally lower than most others.

The poor guy was trying to find the right words to say and his mouth just kept moving with no words coming out. He supposed he rather looked like a landed fish. It was most unbecoming of a god.

Darcy started laughing uncontrollably.

"I fail to see the humor in this situation, Lady Darcy," Loki said.

"No, no," Darcy wiped a tear from her eye. "I was just messing with you, I know Stark likes you too much."

"What?"

Darcy smirked. "Oh c'mon," she teased. "I've barely been here an hour and I can see it already."

Loki wanted to bury his head under the pillow and die. Literally die.

"So," Darcy said slowly. "Do you like him?"

Yes, this was it, this was how he was going to perish, trapped in one of Tony's rooms with this mortal woman chatting his ear off. Loki grabbed the pillow and covered his face. Maybe if he concentrated, the earth mortal would be gone when he looked over. He peeked out from underneath the pillow, nope, no such luck.

"Shift change!" Came a loud, male voice.

Darcy looked up unhappily from her perch. "You have the worst timing," she grumbled.

Loki breathed a sigh and tossed the pillow aside.

"What were you two discussing?" Tony waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Anything good?"

Standing up, Darcy shot Tony a sly grin. "Wouldn't you like to know," she said and blew them both a kiss. "Get well there, Loki."

Tony turned his gaze on the god, his eyes practically swimming with questions. "Care to tell me what that was about?"

Loki closed his eyes and sighed. "Believe me, if I knew I would tell you."

From behind the corner, Darcy smiled, her grin covering most of her face. She skipped away to find Jane and Thor, all the while thinking about to two clueless idiots behind her. Sometimes some people just needed a shove in the right direction.

* * *

Just so you know, I love writing Darcy, she's the best.

Please review and stay cool, cause damn, it's hot outside. As I'm typing this, I wish I was in Jotunheim.

Nicholls


	6. Thinking of You

**Thinking of You**

Jane had forced Thor to eat a sandwich before he was able to go see Loki again. After a short argument, the Thunder God agreed and ate four of them. He was secretly glad that Jane was here, he had missed her and her presence was soothing. Plus she made good food.

"Thor, has Loki ever dated anyone before?" Darcy said absent-mindedly.

Jane almost choked on the water she was drinking, and Thor pattered her on the back helpfully.

"Not to my knowledge," Thor said thoughtfully. Loki did have four children, but they were products of his magic and other unnamed women. "He has been known to immerse himself in his studies, more so than other forms of entertainment."

The intern just made a noncommittal sound, tapping her lips slowly.

"Why may I ask are you so interested in my brother?" Thor asked and slid a Pop Tart into his mouth.

"Yes, Darcy," Jane added. "Why are you so interested in Loki?"

The brunette smiled slyly.

Jane's eyes widened. "Oh no! No, no, no, no!"

Thor looked at the smaller woman next to him with confusion plastered all over his face. He looked like a lost puppy.

"He's Thor's brother!" Jane sputtered. "You cannot date him!"

Darcy stuck out her bottom lip and pouted. "You're no fun Jane. Just because you have a Norse god, doesn't mean I can't have one."

Jane glared.

"But all kidding aside," Darcy said and fixed her eyes on both of them. "I think Loki likes someone."

"Who is this person who dare threaten my brother's honor?" Thor rumbled. "I would like to have words with them."

"Whoa, calm down Rambo," Darcy held her hands up in front of her. "Don't get Mjölnir all tangled up in your hair. It's an Avenger, so you have nothing to worry about regarding Loki's honor."

"Which one is it?" Jane asked. "We know it's not you," she said, looking at Thor. "So that leaves Steve, Tony, Clint, Bruce, and Natasha."

Before the two of them could ask any more questions, Darcy slipped out of the room.

* * *

"So, she's just a ball of energy," Tony said as he took a seat.

Loki only nodded and resituated the pillow under his head.

"Loki, I actually have to talk to you about something," the engineer started and leaned in forward a bit. The god's eyebrow quirked up.

"_Sir,"_ Jarvis announced, his British accent coming through flawlessly. _"Director Fury has just announced that Victor Von Doom has escaped from SHIELD. He is on his way back to Latveria. Fury has ordered that the Avengers try to apprehend him before he reaches his country, if he escapes, he will be untouchable."_

Iron Man groaned. "Thanks Jarvis. Fury has the worst timing ever."

"_Amora also escaped with him,"_ Jarvis added. _"She isn't flying with him back to Latveria though sir."_

Tony was on his feet, he gave Loki a withering glare. "You stay here."

Loki glared. "I am no child, Tony. Believe it or not, I am capable of taking care of myself."

"Well then, Comet," Tony smirked. "How is it that you came to be in that bed in the first place?"

Loki was silent and his eyelids grew heavy again.

Tony smiled in victory. He spared the deity another glance before he ran out the door to meet with his team. "I'll be back."

In the living room Steve was already in his uniform with his shield strapped firmly on his arm. The two master assassins were readying their weapons and making sure they were clean. Thor was talking to Jane and Darcy, fully dressed in his Asgardian armor, Mjölnir grasped in his hand. Tony ran for his armor and returned once Jarvis was done assembling him. By the time he got back, Bruce had joined them.

"Did Fury say anything else?" Steve asked once he spotted Tony.

"No, just that Amora and Doom escaped and we had to find the doctor before he flies back to his little country that no one cares about."

Steve looked unimpressed.

"Clint, Bruce, and I will take Amora," Natasha said, strapping a couple of guns to her body. "Thor and Tony should fly after Doom."

"And what should I do?" Steve asked, a little put out.

Clint slid on his purple-tinted sunglasses. "Watch Loki, Jane, and Darcy. Amora could target them. Besides, can you fly? You are many things there Cap, but a bird you are not."

Steve saw their logic, and someone did need to look after their guests.

"All right, let's go," Tony hollered, snapped his faceplate down, and took off through one of his sky lights. Thankfully, he designed some that opened, or Pepper would complain that there was glass all over the floor again.

Thor bid Jane goodbye and followed his friend.

* * *

"I've got an eye on our little fairy," Clint said through the communications link. "I'm taking the shot."

The arrow whizzed through the air straight towards its target, but Amora spun around and teleported in front of the owner. She blasted him backwards into a building with a quick wave of her hand.

Clint maneuvered himself so he landed as softly as possible.

"Well hello there, handsome," the Enchantress purred. "Why haven't I ever met you before?"

Shaking the dust off his uniform, Clint notched another arrow into his bow. The archer smirked as Natasha materialized behind the Asgardian, fist at the ready.

"Maybe it's because my girlfriend is behind you, and she looks pissed."

Amora had two seconds to react before she had Black Widows fist in her face. The Enchantress crumbled to the ground. Leaning over to inspect her handiwork, Natasha smirked and nudged the fallen criminal with the point of her boot.

"I think she's down," she smirked as Clint came to stand beside her.

He nodded quickly, looking like a bobble head. "Yes, Tasha, I think you got her."

Natasha pressed her index and middle finger to her ear. "Nick, I have a pick-up for you."

"Well, it must be my birthday," came the sarcastic reply.

"You're welcome," Clint grumbled. "Now if Tony and Thor can get Doom back, we'll be all set."

"Where's Banner?" Nick asked.

Clint glanced at the other assassin, she shrugged. "We aren't sure there, Nicky."

If they could see the director, he probably had a vein popping out of his head the size of Texas. The guy was going to have an aneurism if he wasn't careful. Maybe he should take a vacation. Yes that would be good, he should bring that up in their next meeting.

As if on cue, Bruce came running out, completely out of breath. He rested his hands on his knees, wheezing.

"You guys should slow down," Banner gasped.

Clint chuckled. "Maybe you should work out with us."

Bruce shot him a glare. "So where's Amora?" He looked down to his right and spotted the super villain lying on the ground. "Oh."

"Yeah, you missed all the action," Natasha smiled. "You're a little slow, Bruce."

"Did you hear that Nick?" Clint asked. "Banner's just a little slower than the rest of us."

"Hey!"

Fury growled and cut the communication.

"Someone's cranky."

* * *

Steve sat next to Loki as the god slept, fulfilling his promise to Tony. He flipped through the book as Loki slowly opened his eyes. The deity took in his surroundings.

"Where's Tony?"

Shutting his book, Steve looked up at the god. "He's out catching Doom. They should be back though," he said, checking his watch.

Loki shut his eyes, the light was really bright. Right, he remembers now.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked, concerned.

"I'm fine," Loki waved weakly.

Steve snorted. "I don't think so."

Loki glared. "I'm a god, Steven."

"Well, you're not my God, Loki."

"A Gatorade."

"Excuse me?"

Loki opened his eyes again and stared at Steve. "I would like a Gatorade, the orange kind if you please."

The light bulb went on in Steve's head. "Oh. Oh! Right, sorry," the soldier jumped up. "I'll be right back."

* * *

"DAMMIT DOOM!" Tony roared. "Just give it up!"

Iron Man flew at Doom and fired his repulsors at the cloaked figure. Doom just laughed and put up his magical shield and reflected it. This only spurred Tony on; he did not take kindly to having his weapons fired back at him.

"Thor, buddy! I could use some help!"

"I hear you Man of Iron!" Thor shouted. He raised his hammer and threw it at Doom.

Mjölnir ricocheted off the magical barrier and returned to Thor's hand. The Thunder God scowled and sped towards the masked man. Thor was like a tank, and it didn't take much effort to dodge him. Doom sidestepped and shot lightning. Thor being the God of Thunder, only batted the offending plasma back at the sorcerer.

"What is that noise?" Tony asked casually.

Thor was momentarily distracted and Doom punched the prince in the stomach sending him into the ocean. Tony cringed, he didn't mean for that to happen.

"Uh, sorry Thor!" He called.

Thor crashed out of the ocean, spraying Tony with water. It was times like these that he was glad that his armor was water and rust proof. He looked over where Tony's was pointing and saw an army of Doombots flying their way. It was just wrong how happy that made him look.

"Son of Howard! I will occupy myself with those metal men," Thor boomed. "I leave Dr. Doom to you."

With Mjölnir raised, Thor let out a battle cry and launched himself into the middle of the bots. Tony watched him, amazed at how energetic the Asgardian could get about battle. With a mighty swing, Thor sent ten Doombots to their watery grave. Tony was a little jealous.

"How's your little friend, Stark?" Doom smirked.

Tony readied the unibeam. "Seeing as last time he kicked your ass the last time you met, he's pretty good."

Doom shot magic bolts at Tony, who easily dodged them and fired the beam, hitting the other man in the chest. The doctor was knocked back a few feet and stopped himself. He had not been expecting that.

"Why isn't he here then?" Doom inquired.

Tony didn't want to reveal the condition of his team, that kind of information could be used against them in the future.

"I saw the footage of the battle against Dr. Octopus. Don't you think it was strange that he couldn't protect himself from that blast?"

"What are you getting at Doom?"

Doom smirked from underneath his mask, Tony couldn't see it, but the doctor's eyes said everything. For some reason, the engineer could tell that Doom was telling the truth. Something about that battle did seem a little off to him.

"Spill it, Doom!" Tony growled. "What do you know?"

A metal head sped past Tony's ear, and he shot Thor a glare. When he looked back Doom had taken off.

_Dammit all, Doom! _Tony thought and hurried after him.

He traveled for twenty miles and hadn't spotted Doom anywhere. It's like the bastard up and vanished. The billionaire cursed. Doom was probably back in his little country, safe and sound. And the worst part was that legally, the United States couldn't touch him.

He felt like punching the seagull flying in front of him, but he restrained himself.

Tony looked over at Thor, who was finishing up demolishing the remaining Doombots. The guy really had too much fun fighting.

"Thor! You done buddy?"

"Almost," Thor said as he swung, hitting the head off the last bot.

Tony made a metal note to take the god golfing one day, or maybe to a batting cage. No scratch that, someone might get hurt.

"Did you acquire the target?" Thor asked him.

"No," the man frowned. "He's back in his country by now."

"Then why don't we go get him?"

Tony sighed. "We aren't allowed to invade another country."

"I see," Thor said slowly. "On Asgard we have similar rules."

They started to fly back to the tower when the communication link beeped on Tony's end.

"_Sir, it's Mr. Rogers,"_ Jarvis announced. _"He says it's urgent."_

"Put him through."

There was a pause.

"Tony?" Came Steve's unsure voice.

"Yeah, Cap? What's up?" Tony asked.

"You have to get back here quickly! Something's happened to Loki and I don't know what to do! Neither does Jane or Darcy, and Bruce is out with Clint and Natasha."

At the mention of the god's name, Tony froze.

"What's wrong with him?"

The Captain seemed like he was on the edge of a nervous breakdown. "I don't know! Just get back here! Maybe Thor knows something."

"All right, we'll be there in five."

The line was cut, and there was nothing but silence.

"There's a situation back at the mansion, it's your brother," Tony said to the Asgardian prince. That was all he said on the matter before he pushed his suit to fly him faster than he's ever gone before.

He dared Thor to keep up.

* * *

Ah, Nicky really does like spoiling the moment. :D

Feedback is appreciated as usual.

Nicholls


	7. Holding On To Heaven

**Holding On To Heaven**

Tony was sure he broke a few laws of physics by the time he was back in the tower. He fidgeted as Jarvis took his armor off, because time felt like it was moving in super slow motion. As soon as the last boot was taken apart, Tony broke into a dead sprint. He could hear Thor somewhere behind him, but he didn't care.

"Loki!" Tony yelled as he barged into the god's room.

What he saw made his blood run cold.

Loki was on the bed, sweat lining his brow, as he convulsed in Steve's arms. The super soldier looked to Tony, his eyes wide with fear. He didn't know what the hell was going on, and he thought perhaps by some miracle, Tony knew.

Tony took Steve's place on the bed, and held Loki, trying to get him to stop seizing. If he didn't stop soon they would have to restrain him.

"Loki, hey, it's me," Tony tried, his eyes watering. "It's ok, I'm here."

Just by touching the prince's skin, Tony could feel that something was wrong. Being a Jotun, Loki's skin was naturally a little colder than a normal person. But this wasn't right, Loki was burning up.

Steve brought a cold cloth and placed it on the god's forehead.

"Tony… what's-"

"I don't know!" Tony growled, still cradling the God of Mischief. "I don't know…" he added after seeing Steve's kicked puppy face.

Loki continued to shake, and Tony was running out of options to think about. The god was muttering a string of incoherent sentences. He was sweating, and Tony thought that he might have to place the other man in an ice bath.

"No, father, you can't," Loki muttered softly. "He's just a boy, he doesn't deserve this!"

Steve raised an eyebrow.

"Fenrir… Fenrir… It's going to be all right," Loki tried to reassure his non-existent son in front of him. "I'll find you… I promise."

The god went back to trying to pet Fenrir, but ended up just stroking Tony's knee instead. In his mind, Loki could see his son being bound and dragged away from him, for a crime that the boy hadn't even committed yet. Odin had found a prophecy that foretold that Fenrir would kill him. Loki didn't even have time to come to his son's defense before he was taken.

Tony's eyes brightened. "Oh," he gasped. "Fenrir is Loki's son."

Steve looked at him. "You mean the Great Wolf?" He asked, his eyebrows raised. "He's Loki's son? Loki has children?"

Nodding, Tony continued to hold the god still so he wouldn't hurt himself.

"If my reading is correct," he said. "Loki has four."

"Four? What are their names?"

Tony opened his mouth to reply, but Loki beat him to it.

"Jörmungandr!" Loki cried.

"There it is," Tony mumbled. "Good thing, I didn't know how to pronounce it."

"He doesn't have any magic! Jörmungandr is of no threat to you, or Asgard! Please let me keep him here with me."

Whatever happened in Loki's hallucination must have been horrible, because he screamed and fought against Tony's hold on him.

"Where did you send him?" Loki growled and thrashed. "Tell me, Odin!"

Steve grabbed Loki's right arm and pinned it, so he wouldn't smack Tony in the face. He strained against the god's strength and it frightened him how powerless he felt.

The scene changed in front of them.

"Father you can't use Sleipnir as your horse! He's my son!"

From what Thor has told them about Odin's eight legged steed, it seems that Loki lost that battle.

"Hel, please just stay here," Loki tried to reason with his daughter. "They already took Fenrir, Sleipnir, and Jörmungandr, so please just-"

Loki stopped moving and was still in the genius's arms. Tony checked to make sure he still had a pulse, and nodded to Steve to help him bring Loki down to the med bay. Steve gathered the god in his arms, bridal style, and moved with Tony to the door.

"Fenrir, Jörmungandr, Sleipnir, Hel… I'm sorry…" Loki whispered. "_I'm so sorry_…"

It felt like someone had an iron grip around his heart. Nothing was going as Tony thought it would. If someone had told him a year ago that he would have two Norse gods living in his tower, he would have checked them into a mental hospital.

He and Steve emerged from the room, only to be greeted by Jane, Darcy, and Thor. It seemed that Thor was stopped before he got to Loki's room by his girlfriend, which Tony was thankful for to be honest.

"Man of Iron," Thor asked. "What ails my brother?"

Tony's face fell. "One, it's Tony or Stark. And two, we were kinda hoping you would know."

Thor looked at him with confusion. "Why would I know, Man of- I mean Tony?"

Steve motioned to the god in his arms. "We thought it was some kind of Asgardian thing."

Thor shook his head. "I'm sorry friends, but we do not fall to such ailments on Asgard."

"Well aren't you lucky."

"But Loki is of Jotun heritage," Thor supplied. "They may be susceptible to such things."

Loki coughed violently and tried to wiggle out of Steve's grip. "I have to find them…"

Tightening his hold on Loki, Steve looked at the group for direction.

"Where is Bruce?"

"He said he would be back any minute now, but he did say to bring Loki down to the medical wing."

The soldier nodded and walked towards the elevator, with Tony right behind him. But before the doors closed, Tony stuck his arm out.

"Thor," he said, his voice steady. "What happened to Loki's children?"

Thor paused, clearly uncomfortable.

"Why the sudden need to know, Tony?"

The man frowned. "Because he just spent twenty minutes apologizing to a bunch of hallucinations of them."

Beside the God of Thunder, Jane looked worried.

"What happened, Thor?" She asked.

"They were cast out," Thor sighed. "Fenrir was bound, because he was thought to be a threat. Jörmungandr was thrown into Midgard's oceans, Sleipnir is my father's main horse, and Hel was given the land of the dead to rule over."

"The Allfather cast out his own grandchildren?" Tony seethed. "Well, there's another name I can add to the list I have for him, 'Child Snatcher'. Next time I'm in Asgard, I'll read it to him!"

"Tony," Thor tried.

"No! I don't care what Asgard's rules are. You don't go tossing around someone's children like they're a toy!"

Jane and Darcy both wore expressions horror and disgust. They couldn't believe that someone would punish children, and their own grandchildren at that.

On Tony's right, Loki wheezed, trying to take in a breath. This snapped the engineer out of his anger, and he withdrew his arm, allowing the doors to close. He sent Thor one more glare before he lost sight of him.

This was nowhere near over yet.

* * *

Bruce hat arrived a second after they rushed into the room. He placed Loki in bath of ice water to lower his temperature. The god shrieked and tried to escape, but was held in place by Steve and Tony's strong arms. It pained them to do it, but they knew that if his body temperature didn't go down soon, Loki would be in deep trouble.

After the bath, Loki was placed in one of the hospital beds, and hooked up to so many machines that it made Tony's head hurt. At least Loki was looking more at peace than he was an hour ago.

Steve had left to go check on the others and update Clint and Natasha about the situation at hand. Tony just waved goodbye and refused to move from Loki's bedside.

An hour after Steve's departure, Loki slowly opened his eyes. It looked like his fever had dropped and his seizures stopped. Even a little color had returned to the god's pale face. Tony counted those things as a win.

"Hello, Rudolf."

Loki turned his head and narrowed his eyes a bit.

"What? Don't like reindeer?"

"I don't even know what a reindeer _is_," Loki rasped.

Tony nodded thoughtfully. Yeah, that was his bad.

"So, you have kids." It was more of a statement than a question.

Loki eyed him warily. "Yes," he said finally. "What did I say?"

"Well a lot," Tony said using his hands as a measuring device. "You remember?"

"A bit," Loki admitted. "They weren't really here…"

Tony squeezed his shoulder a bit. "No, I'm sorry."

Loki nodded. "I miss them. It's been centuries since I've seen them."

"What are their names?" Tony asked. Of course he knew this, but he just wanted Loki to keep talking to him.

"Well," the god started, his eyes brightening a little. "There is Sleipnir the horse, Fenrir the Great Wolf, Hel the ruler of well, Hel, and Jörmungandr the Midgard Serpent."

Tony's tongue was twisting itself up just thinking of those names.

"Can I just call them: Slippy, Fen, Hel and George?"

Loki stared at him. "How does _'George'_ even sound like Jörmungandr?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Tony gave Loki his best, "I don't know" look.

"I'm sorry if I can't pronounce them. It's not like they're named Tom, Dick, and Harry."

"Who is this 'Tom, Dick, and Harry'?" Loki asked.

_Oh my God. _

The engineer sighed. "It's an expression."

_Oh,_ the god thought. "Well fine," he relented. "You may call Jörmungandr, George, if you must."

"You think he'd like it?" Tony asked.

Loki shrugged. "I'm not sure, maybe someday you can meet him."

_Whoa, whoa. Hold the phone. Back up a few steps. Did Loki just say I could meet his giant snake child?_ Tony was internally jumping. It's not every day that you meet a giant snake.

"Really?"

"If he wants to meet _you_, that is," Loki said, emphasizing the word 'you".

"Who wouldn't want to meet me?" Tony said, tugging on his collar. "I'm Tony Stark."

Loki rolled his eyes. "As if I could forget," he said as he tried to sit up on the bed. "Your name is plastered on the side of this building."

Tony grinned and leaned in closer to the god. "Nice, huh?"

"Hardly," the raven haired man laughed.

"You know," Tony said, his voice becoming serious. "You gave us quite a scare today."

The God of Mischief looked at him.

"Do you know what happened?"

Loki was silent.

"Loki?"

"No, Tony," Loki said softly. "I don't know what's going on, but I'm fine now."

This seemed to placate Tony for the time being, but Loki really hated lying to the person that cared about him the most.

* * *

Some reviews I felt the need to answer:

TheWritingMonster: I try. Thank you for your kind words.

kellyrosado2013 2013 : You flatter me!

cara-tanaka: I will try! :)

H. Lokidottir: I'm sorry, but yes.

skydancer2ooo: You will have to wait and see. ;)

tinyBrocks: Many thanks!

Aruyn: So I did! I shall fix it. Thank you, an patience my dear. :D

Guest: I'm sorry... I seem to be unable to help myself.

Lacus01: Wait and see. :)

* * *

For the life of me I cannot pronounce Jörmungandr, I always end up calling him George. Don't ask me why.

And I hope you all don't kill me for where I'm taking this story, I have it all written out.

Nicholls


	8. Never Going to Leave This Bed

**Never Going to Leave This Bed**

A day after Loki's little incident, he was allowed to leave the medical wing and was currently parked on Tony's couch in front of the big screen television. He looked completely normal, and it was only at Tony's insistence that he stayed behind while the team took down the villain of the week.

An hour later, the team came back looking a little worse for wear. Clint was limping, Natasha's hair was messed up but other than that she was all right, Steve's costume was ripped and burnt, and Bruce had made himself scarce to find some new clothes. He could hear Thor rummaging around in the kitchen, probably looking for Pop Tarts.

Loki looked up at the group as they trudged in after they had cleaned up. Clint and Natasha crashed on one of the other couches, the archer seemed like he wanted to fall asleep right then and there.

_Where's Tony? _Loki thought. _Is he hurt?_

A few seconds later the billionaire strolled in with a plate of food in his hand. There were a few cuts and bruises adorning his face, but he was relatively unharmed. Most of it was because of his amazing suit. He plopped down next to the deity of mischief and offered him some.

"Hungry?" Tony asked.

Loki looked at the plate of French fries, they smelled appetizing, but he had no idea what the golden sticks were. He sniffed them warily.

Tony frowned at him. "They won't bite, Rudolf."

"I know that," Loki snapped. "I'm not an idiot."

At that moment, Thor strode into the room with two boxes of his sugary treat in his hands. He sat on the ground in front of his brother and stuffed another into his mouth. Thor really was too easily pleased.

A few moments later, Jane and Darcy joined Thor on the floor.

"So what are we watching?" Tony asked through a mouthful. "It better not be _Lord of the Rings_. Again."

Loki glared at him.

"Is it movie night?" Clint said happily as he walked in with Nat. "Can I pick?"

"No!" Tony shouted. "The last time you picked I couldn't make Loki shut up about _Harry Potter _for a week!"

"That Draco fellow was an interesting and complex character."

Tony wanted to face palm.

"Here," Natasha said, and slid a DVD into the BluRay player. "Problem solved."

"What are we watching?" Steve asked, hands full with bowls of popcorn.

"People really need to stop asking that," Tony muttered.

"Bruce! Hurry up, you're missing movie night!" Clint yelled.

About twenty minutes into the movie, Tony didn't know what they were watching.

"Why is that man in the 1920's?"

"Time machine," Tasha said. "Now shut it, Tony."

"How is that even possible?" The engineer argued. "And why does he want to live in France?"

"Tony," Captain America replied. That was all he needed to say to make someone feel bad.

It came to the part in the movie where the protagonist, Gil Pender, has been transported into the past and meets Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald at a party hosted by Jean Cocteau. Loki immediately straightens up at this time. Tony looks at him strangely.

"I remember him," Loki says absent- mindedly. "Great writer."

Bruce took his eyes off the screen to look at the god. "You _knew_ him?"

Loki nodded. "Of course, I knew many of your historical figures."

"How old _are_ you?" Clint asked very loudly.

Loki looked down at his brother, who turned his head so he could see back. Thor shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not sure," Loki said thoughtfully. "A couple thousand by Midgard standards."

Thor nodded. "Sounds about right, brother. I lose count after some time."

"So are you young by 'god standards' then?"

The God of Thunder munched on a Pop Tart and counted in his head. "I am older than Loki is. I still remember the day father brought him home."

"Aww, baby Loki," Darcy gushed. "I bet he was so cute!"

Loki blushed. "I am not cute!"

"So I'd be around twenty-eight by your age system," Thor concluded, Loki nodded in agreement.

"I'd roughly be about twenty-four," Loki answered. "So yes, we are quite young for gods."

"That'd be cool," Clint grinned. "Being a god would rock."

Tony chuckled. "Who would you be? Cupid?"

Clint chucked a handful of popcorn at the owner of Stark Tower, who only stuck out his tongue in his defense.

"Guys, I'm trying to watch the movie," Tasha glared.

"Sorry," Tony mumbled.

"Wow, that Scott is hot," Darcy drooled. "I'd totally hit that."

Beside her, Jane raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"What?"

Darcy grinned and elbowed her playfully. "Oh, c'mon, if Thor wasn't here, you'd agree with me."

"I agree with you," the master assassin said to Darcy, who high-fived her.

"Don't be silly," Jane said as she scooted closer to Thor.

Darcy's grin grew even wider.

"He looks like Loki, a little," Clint eyed the screen, squinting a bit in the process.

"Yes," Jane said and threw her arms up. "That's what I need to hear, that he looks like my boyfriend's brother. Thanks Darcy."

"Hey," the girl replied. "Clint said it."

The talking never ceased and Natasha had decided to watch the movie again on her own, since no one seemed like they could shut up for one minute. After she watched it again, she decided that she would ask Loki about how much of it was true, since he seemed to know everyone.

"Next time," Loki whispered to Tony as they walked upstairs. "I'm going with you, it was boring here."

Tony eyed him. "Are you sure you are fine?"

Loki huffed in derision. "I'm a god. There are few things that could kill me."

"Well whatever happened with you last night was pretty scary."

Rolling his eyes, Loki glared at the billionaire. "That was nothing, just aftereffects of being blown to almost Hel and back."

"You'd tell me if there was something wrong, right?" Tony asked.

Loki looked away for a second. "Of course."

"All right," Tony said slowly. "If you say you are fine, then I'll believe you."

Loki nodded, and was about to wish the other man a goodnight, when he was shoved up against the wall. Tony stared right into Loki's green eyes.

"I'm sorry," Tony whispered. "I don't know what I was-"

Tony didn't have any time to get out the last word before Loki closed the gap between them and captured the other man's lips in his. The kiss was rougher than the dark haired engineer was used to, but it was good. Different is good.

Just as Tony remembered, Loki's hair was still soft and silky. He ran it through his fingers and pushed the god harder against the wall. They mutually decided that shirts were in the way, and Loki was doing his best to free Tony from his. He worked the buttons with his slender fingers and Tony kissed him back with even more passion.

"Tony! The waffle maker is broken!" Clint's voice filled their ears, making both men groan.

_Dammit, Clint! _Tony internally screamed. _For the love of all that is holy!_

It seemed that Loki was thinking the same thing, but his was a little different. His was sprinkled with a few more colorful curse words that he had picked up while traveling the Nine Realms.

"Why the hell are you making waffles at nine at night?!" Tony bellowed.

Sometimes he hated living in the tower, and not back in Malibu.

"We're hungry!"

_Fuck. _Tony thought.

He felt Loki nip at the base of his neck and he wished that he _was_ back in Malibu with Loki.

Alone.

"I'll just bring it to you!"

_NO! _Tony pulled Loki away from him, much to the god's dismay, and man, could he show it.

Loki turned and headed for his room, and after a second Tony could hear the door slam.

"No, Clint! I'm coming."

Tony trudged into the kitchen with a scowl that would flatten a box of innocent kittens. He grabbed the machine and shook it. A minute later he whipped a drawer open to find his tools. The others watched as Tony's hands worked so fast it was blinding.

"Here," he said and shoved the waffle maker into Clint's arms and stormed out to find Loki.

Thor looked at the engineer in confusion as he readied the waffle batter. An identical look was plastered over the good captain's face. He had never seen Tony not happy to be fixing something.

"What was that about?" Clint raised an eyebrow.

* * *

Tony knocked on Loki's door, hoping the god was in a good mood. Well, he _was_ in a good move up until Clint's interruption.

"Loki," Tony tried. "Loki, it's me. Please open the door."

After a moment the door slid open and Loki's head poked out to see who had interrupted his reading.

Oh.

Tony.

Right.

"Hey," he said lamely.

Tony smiled. "We were in the middle of something, weren't we?"

Loki matched his smile with one of his own and dragged the human into his room, the door closing behind them.

* * *

The following morning Clint found twenty birds chirping incessantly outside his window at six o'clock. After he chased them away, which was no easy task, he walked down the hallway.

Weren't most birds supposed to be flying south by now?

His musings were cut short as he nearly tripped over a few bags of birdseed that was put deliberately in his path. Clint cursed and kicked the bags out of his way.

Finding his way to the living room, he sprawled out on the couch and pulled out his iPod, maybe a little music would help him fall back to sleep. He turned the device on and almost had a heart attack.

All of his music had been erased and replaced with bird calls.

Bird calls.

BIRD CALLS.

"What the fuck?!" Clint screamed.

Captain America came running up the stairs from the gym. He was drenched in sweat and tape was wound around his knuckles.

"What's wrong? What's happening?" He asked, breathing hard.

Clint shoved the iPod in Steve's face. "Someone changed my music to BIRD CALLS!" He shrieked. "And! That someone also set bags of bird seed in the hallway and trained birds to chirp at my window!"

Steve stared at the archer like he had grown a second head.

His iPod blinked and a message scrolled across its screen.

_LOKI'D!_

Clint almost crushed the device in his hand.

"What did you do to Loki?" Steve asked.

Clint wracked his brain, trying to figure that out. He couldn't recall anything.

"I have no idea."

* * *

Guess what movie I recently watched? :)

Also, I don't write mature scenes, I just can't. I'm not a good enough author to do that, and it would be horrible. So please forgive me.

Nicholls


	9. Everything Changes

**Everything Changes**

Sunlight streamed into the dark room, hitting Tony in the eye. The CEO groaned and rolled over, only he rolled into something. Tony opened his eyes and saw the God of Mischief sleeping next to him, his raven hair strewn out on his pillow.

Tony smiled and stroked the god's hair.

Mumbling something in his sleep, Loki inched closer to the billionaire.

This earned a chuckle from Tony, who kissed the other man on the forehead.

"Rise and shine," he said, shaking Loki a little.

The Trickster swatted the hand away and buried his head in the pillows. For some reason, Tony thought that this was going to get complicated really quickly. Maybe Loki would smite him if he didn't leave him alone. It was a possibility.

But Tony didn't get a chance to find out because the door was forcibly thrown open, and an angry Clint stood in the doorway.

Well, _shit_.

"LOKI!" Clint shouted. "What do you think you were-"

Clint stopped and stared at the scene in front of him. He blinked.

And blinked again.

Steve came in a second later followed by Natasha, who came to see what all the commotion was about.

They all blinked slowly.

It was getting really creepy.

"W-w-what?" Clint stammered. "You and- I thought- you- Stark-"

At all the noise, Loki's head poked out from under the covers and blankets to figure out who was making all the noise. He spied the Avengers in front of him, and his eyes grew as large as dinner plates.

"By Odin's beard," Tony heard the god mutter darkly.

"What the fuck, Stark?" Clint shouted. "I thought you were straight!"

Tony rolled his eyes. "I hate labels."

"And you," Clint said and pointed at Loki. "You could have done a lot better."

"Hey!" Tony snapped.

Natasha was barely keeping her laughter bottled up, and Steve was turning red as a tomato. The super soldier really was too innocent for this group of people.

"You and Loki? Loki and you?"

"Yes," Tony said lazily. "What is so hard to understand?"

"Did you," Steve mumbled. "Fondue?"

Tony and Loki both wore equal expressions of confusion.

"What?"

"Fondue?"

"Never mind," Steve said and walked out to punch stuff.

Natasha followed the Captain's lead and dragged Clint out the door, much to his protesting.

"Wait! I'm not done asking them things!"

"Yes you are," Natasha said. "Come along."

After their unwanted guests had gone, Tony flopped back down on the bed. He kissed Loki good morning who snuggled closer.

"So? Breakfast?"

Loki nodded.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, after they had showered, the two of them made their way downstairs to the kitchen. Most of the team was already assembled and eating. Tony looked around for Thor, in case the Thunder god was going to beat him into the ground. After not locating him, he grabbed his mug.

Loki found himself some fruit and Tony made them both some fresh coffee.

Clint kept asking them questions and every so often, Tasha would pull his ear or kick him under the table to shut him up.

It seemed that Bruce had been filled in on the matter, but he really didn't seem bothered. He knew of Tony's reputation before he even knew the man. This was nothing out of the ordinary for Tony Stark.

Captain America was still fidgeting awkwardly but it couldn't be helped. The man really was a boy scout.

Then the calm ended.

"ANTHONY STARK!"

Tony jerked up from the paper and took off running.

A second later, Thor came barreling into the kitchen, ignoring the waffles and Pop Tarts in front of him.

"WHERE IS HE?" Thor thundered. "HE HAS TAINTED MY BROTHER'S HONOR!"

Beside Bruce, Loki laughed. Oh, if Thor only knew.

"Thor, honey," Jane tried to reason with her man. "They are both grown adults, I'm sure they know what they're doing."

Darcy walked in and grabbed a waffle. "It's Tony Stark," she quipped. "I _hope_ he knew what he was doing."

Jane threw her a dirty look, but Darcy only smiled and sat down next to Clint.

"MAN OF IRON!"

Thor ran out of the room and soon the team saw him chasing Tony outside the window. Thankfully Tony had slipped into his armor and was eluding the angry Norse Thunder god for the time being.

Loki had ignored the conversation and instead was beating his head on the tabletop, over and over again.

Darcy leaned over the table and whispered, "So how was your night?"

Loki looked up slowly. "Fantastic, until Thor decided to try and beat up my boyfriend."

"That's good," Darcy smiled. "What else is family for?"

The god placed his head back on the table and sighed.

* * *

An hour later, the two Avengers came back in laughing and joking with one another. Thankfully, Tony's head was still attached to his body, and he was in one piece.

"Ah, Anthony Stark," Thor boomed. "I give you permission to date my brother."

"Uh," Tony said eyeing Loki. "Thanks, big guy."

Loki glared. "I do not need to be given away like some young maiden, Thor."

"I know, brother."

"Then why did you chase Tony around the tower. People must have thought we'd gone mad."

"Nothing new," Clint waved his hand.

"Not helping," Loki pointed at the archer. "Do I need to have more birds wake you up tomorrow morning?"

Clint narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, what was that all about? What did I do to you?"

"If you must know," Loki said smoothly. "You interrupted us."

"What?"

"Last night."

"But I didn't… oh… shit…" Clint came to a realization. "You two were doing it when I asked Tony to fix the waffle maker?!"

"Speaking of waffles," Thor said, completely missing the conversation. "Are there any left?"

Natasha pointed him in the right direction.

"No!" Tony yelped. "We were in the process! Which you interrupted."

Clint slid closer to Natasha. "Oops."

"Yeah, oops is right," Tony scowled.

The alarm above their heads blared to life and caused everyone to jump in their seats.

"Suit up!" Cap shouted.

Tony was already in his suit, and Thor and Loki automatically called their armor to their person. The others ran their separate ways to gather their gear.

* * *

"Someone needs to slowly kill Doom!" Clint snarled as he took down two bots at once.

Somewhere on his left Natasha punched another. "I'll do it," she muttered darkly. "This is ridiculous."

The Avengers had been called out, only to be greeted by over two hundred Doombots terrorizing downtown New York City. Everything was a mess. There were overturned cars, down power lines, buildings demolished, and fire everywhere.

"Finally," Loki said and cracked his knuckles. "I was growing bored."

He materialized his staff, and leaped into the sea of bots.

Thor joined his sibling amidst the robots and started swinging. He laughed as wave after wave of robots crashed against his weapon, only to be crushed instantly. Loki stabbed with his spear and used his magic to push back. He was the wind, never staying to long in one place and was untouchable.

The Avenges decided to let the brothers have their fun and went about putting out fires and rescuing people who were trapped.

"Remember the time on Vanaheim, brother?" Thor called and smashed another Doombot to pieces.

"Yes I do," Loki said as his throwing knives found their target. "As I recall, I saved your skin from certain death. Whatever would you do without me?"

"I don't know," Thor said and dodged a blow.

They fought in perfect harmony, brought upon from years of practice and experience. Once those two siblings worked together, there wasn't a force in the Nine Realms that could match them.

Not that either one was keeping score, but Loki was ahead, by a few, give or take. Thor grinned at his sibling. Loki really was an impressive warrior. It pained him that he and his family didn't notice it sooner. Just because someone had a different style, didn't make it wrong.

Loki went to send a fireball at the nearest bot, but it failed. The god cursed and slammed his spear into it instead. After a second his magic worked, only a little too well. He accidently sent a wall of fire crashing down on the remaining enemies, which incinerated them on impact.

Thor's eyes were wide. "Brother!"

Loki extinguished the flames immediately.

The rest of the team came rushing over, with Tony reaching them first.

"What the hell was that?" Tony yelled. "That could have killed someone!"

Loki glared at him. "I didn't do it on purpose!"

"Then explain!"

Thor looked at his brother closely. There was nothing that he could see that was physically wrong with his brother, but something seemed off to him. He grew up with Loki, and even though his brother was good at hiding the truth, Thor could always sense that he was lying most of the time. It was the privilege of knowing the liesmith for as long as he had.

"I don't know, magic is not always precise," Loki defended. It even sounded lame to his ears.

Tony wasn't sure, but he sensed that Loki was lying. Why would Loki lie to him? To the team?

"Loki," Tony said softly. "Tell me what's wrong."

He said it quietly enough that the others couldn't hear.

Loki avoided Tony's eyes, and pulled away.

"Nothing, Tony. I just used a little more power than necessary," Loki said. "Thor can attest to how that feels."

The Thunder god looked at them sheepishly.

There were people that still needed to be rescued, so Tony let the matter drop. For now.

They split back up to repair the damage that Victor had caused. The lunatic was probably back in his country sipping wine and petting a white cat.

* * *

It was almost dark when they finally made it back home. Clint and Tony had gone over to the bar to pour themselves the biggest drink they could find. After changing, Natasha joined them. Steve had declined, saying that he couldn't get drunk even if he wanted to. And Bruce had said that alcohol and the Other Guy didn't mix. It really was a shame.

Thor had gone out with Jane since she was needed back in New Mexico the next day, and Darcy was out with some college friends that had come to visit.

"Hey, when you guys are done," Clint said. "I think Steve's got a movie going."

Tony nodded as the two assassins made their way to the living room.

"All right, be there in ten."

Loki had settled on the couch, he was tired. He stared at his hand, something was deeply wrong. Magic had not gotten away from him like that since he was a child. This was not something that should be happening now, after centuries of practice.

Pain shot through his side, blinding him. He gasped and wrapped his arms around his stomach, trying to block it out. It felt like it was radiating through his entire body. Loki wasn't even aware that he had fallen off the couch until he landed on the floor.

Tony had turned around to offer his lover a drink when he saw Loki on the ground. Dropping his scotch, Tony made a beeline for the fallen god.

"Loki!"

He took the slender man into his arms and felt his forehead. The god didn't feel warm at all, he felt cool, which was his default setting, Tony remembered.

Loki felt like he was on fire. He could tell it was Tony who was holding him, and was grateful that Thor was out with his woman. His brother would just fuss over him and be annoying. Tony was a least a bit better than that.

But it hurt so much.

So damn much.

"Loki," Tony said frantically. "What's wrong? Tell me!"

Loki shook in the billionaire's grasp, his face deathly pale. He desperately wanted to tell Tony something to make him stop worrying about him, but he couldn't think, much less talk. It just wasn't pain he was feeling, it felt like his blood, his very being was boiling. But to Tony he seemed normal, Loki didn't know why, and it scared him. He had known something was wrong, but he didn't know what. Worrying Tony over something that could be nothing didn't seem right.

"Loki please!" Tony pleaded. "I knew you were hiding something. C'mon, just tell me!"

But now, he should have told him.

All the yelling had attracted the other members of their team. Tony saw them coming and pointed at the assassins.

"Go find Thor! Now!"

Normally, Clint would have thrown a fit at being ordered around by Tony, but this time he just followed Natasha out the door. He could see the fear and pain in Tony's eyes.

Right. Find Thor.

Tony turned back to Loki and wiped the blood that was running down the god's face. Why was there blood coming out of Loki's nose? Did he hit himself when he fell?

Steve handed Tony a towel and went to call Bruce from his lab.

It was a nice gesture, but Tony didn't think that Bruce could help this time.

There was a sudden crash as Thor came running through the building with Jane following. He came into the room and knelt down next to his younger brother. The Thunderer searched his sibling for any signs of injuries, but found none.

"_I don't know, magic is not always precise."_

Thor thought back to what Loki said after his magic went haywire. It clicked in his head.

Loki's magic.

Something was severely wrong with Loki's magic, considering it flowed through him just like his own blood. Being mostly adept with only a weapon, Thor knew next to nothing about the mystical art.

But there were those who did.

He motioned for Stark to step back, which he did with a bit of hesitation. Thor lifted his brother into his arms, and knew that Loki would be angry at him later for what he was about to do.

"Heimdall," he called, his voice unwavering. "Open the Bifrost!"

* * *

Feedback is always wonderful.

Nicholls


	10. Good Times Gone

**Good Times Gone**

_Loki's magic._

_Something was severely wrong with Loki's magic, considering it flowed through him just like his own blood. Being mostly adept with only a weapon, Thor knew next to nothing about magic._

_But there were those who did._

_He motioned for Stark to step back, which he did with a bit of hesitation. Thor lifted his brother into his arms, and knew that Loki would be angry at him later for what he was about to do._

"_Heimdall," he called, his voice unwavering. "Open the Bifrost!"_

It took a moment for Tony to register exactly what Thor was saying to his supposed ceiling. The god was going to open the Bifrost in his building. This was not good.

Thor turned to Jane. "I'm sorry, Jane, but you and my friends must remain here. Father was displeased, when I brought mortals to Asgard last time," he said looking at Tony.

Understanding, Jane only nodded and kissed Thor goodbye.

"Don't worry," he told her softly. "One day, you will see my city."

At that moment, the room was flooded with light as somewhere, Heimdall heard the prince's request and opened the rainbow bridge. Thor steeled himself, preparing himself for the journey. He started to disappear when Tony latched onto the two gods.

"Like hell you're taking him without me," he smirked at Thor's shocked face.

The three of them disappeared and the light receded as quickly as it had come.

Clint was shaking his head and muttering to himself. "Oh my God, Fury's going to fucking flip."

* * *

The three landed next to Heimdall, who greeted them with a curt nod. Tony was still amazed at the beauty of the place, even though he'd already seen it before. Beside him, Thor was checking on his brother to make sure he was all right from the flight. Then he turned his attention to Tony.

"What were you thinking Anthony?" He growled. "Father will be most displeased."

Tony shrugged. "He can shove it."

Thor scowled. "That is the-"

"Yeah, yeah," Tony interpreted. "Why are we here anyway?"

Thor hugged Loki closer to him. "My brother needs help," he said.

"You know, he'll kill you when he wakes up right?"

In his mind, Thor knew it. Loki would not appreciate being back in Asgard, but he didn't care at the moment. Loki needed help and only the healers could provide the assistance they so desperately needed.

"There was no other way."

Tony nodded, he understood. He turned to look at the Gatekeeper behind them.

"Hey there, Heineken!"

"Heimdall."

"Right, Heimdall."

"Be warned, Tony Stark," Heimdall said, his voice low and commanding. "If you were to betray the trust that Loki has bestowed on you, his wrath will be great."

Tony eyed him.

"I see everything," the Gatekeeper replied, sensing what Tony was thinking.

"I'll keep that in mind," Tony said and ran off to catch up to Thor.

* * *

Thor kicked to doors to the chamber hall wide open with his boot. The guards didn't appreciate that, but the crowned-prince of Asgard did not care what they thought. His only concern was for his brother.

This place really needed cars or something, because Tony was out of breath by the time he entered the chamber.

Odin stood up on his throne, his eye narrowing.

"Father, Loki is ill, we must help him!" Thor boomed, his voice echoing around the hall.

Frigga ran to her sons and looked at Loki. Even when he was unconscious, he still looked like he was in pain. She stroked his pale face gently, muttering something under her breath. Loki stirred slightly at her touch, but didn't wake.

"He has made it quite clear that he does not want anything to do with Asgard," Odin said.

Tony's fists clenched together.

"But, he is still my son, whether or not he believes me."

Thor snapped his head up, eyes shining.

"That being said," Odin softly went on. "Take him to the healing rooms."

Tony couldn't believe it, the Allfather really did love Loki like he was his son. All of the nasty things that he wanted to say, instantly melted away. Not that they weren't still there, but Tony held his tongue, for once.

"Anthony Stark," Odin's voice was commanding. "Stay, a moment."

Thor looked back, but was told by Odin to keep walking. The prince had no choice, but he sent the engineer a reassuring glance.

Beside him, Frigga stood watching Thor take her youngest away. It hurt him to see her in this state, no one could say that Frigga did not love her sons equally.

Tony stood before the Allfather, shoulders squared and chin held high. He was not going to be intimidated by the man or god, standing in front of him. In his eyes, Odin was just another person that treated Loki like he was nothing, and that made Tony's blood boil.

The Allfather had returned to sitting on his throne, with Gungnir still in his hands.

"It has come to my knowledge that you and Loki have become close." Odin addressed the billionaire.

"Yes," Tony replied. Honestly, it was the shortest answer he has ever given someone.

"What are your intentions, Son of Howard? I am fully aware of your reputation on Midgard."

Next to the billionaire, Frigga scowled at her husband and grabbed Tony's arm, steering him out of the hall. She glanced back at Odin with a look that said, "We will talk later" and escorted Tony out. It was not a moment too soon either, because Tony was about to open his mouth and say something that probably would have gotten his ass smote.

"Do me one favor Anthony Stark," Frigga said quietly as she led the man down to the healing rooms.

Tony nodded to her as they entered the room.

"Take care of my son."

* * *

Tony sat at Loki's bedside for hours waiting for the healers to come back with news. The saying always went that no news was good news, Tony thought that was a load of crap. He wrung his hands through his hair and sighed.

"Loki," he whispered. "Can you hear me?"

Loki slowly opened his emerald eyes. "I can hear you, Tony."

The man was so happy he thought he could cry.

"You idiot!" he mumbled. "Tell me what's wrong."

Propping himself up on his elbows, Loki met Tony's gaze and figured he was cornered.

"All right," he licked his lips. "For some time now, I could feel that something was wrong."

Tony joined him in sitting on the bed and wrapped an arm around the god's shoulders. Immediately, Loki's demeanor changed, and he felt safer.

"Go on," Tony urged.

"It was when I landed on Midgard… I mean Earth."

Gasping, Tony glared at the god. "You knew then?" He barked. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Loki shrugged nonchalantly. "I wasn't quite sure, and I didn't want to worry you. Besides, my magic came back eventually. But it never felt the same after."

"What do you mean?"

Loki averted his gaze. "Magic flows through me, much like blood, and I fear that it has been tainted."

"Is that why you were blind? Someone messed with your mojo?"

"Yes," Loki said simply. "There was a creature in the Void, and I believe he was the one responsible."

Tony was silent.

"It also explains my magic not working at crucial times during battle, and the pain that I have been experiencing."

"This creature, is the cause?" Tony growled. "Where is he?"

Loki chuckled. "You don't even have your suit."

"Don't need it."

"Admirable, but foolish."

"You know me," Tony grinned.

Loki bit back a cry.

Tony looked down, his eyebrows knitted in worry.

"It's fine, they come and go," Loki waved dismissively.

So someone messed with Loki's magic, which was causing his body to basically attack itself. And there was nothing Tony could do. His mind raced over a thousand possibilities at lightning fast speed, but none of them were anything he could do. He was after all a human, and Loki was a god.

"Loki," Tony said softly but firmly. He tilted the god's chin so they were looking directly into each other's eyes. "I'm going to ask this once, and I deserve an honest answer."

After a beat the Trickster slowly nodded.

"Will this kill you?" Tony asked, his voice breaking from uttering the very words.

Loki had promised not to lie, and after all these months he was sick of hiding from Tony.

He nodded.

Tony sucked in a breath. "Can you stop it?"

He waited for the answer that he knew was coming.

Loki shook his head.

* * *

After their long talk, Loki had drifted back to sleep, and Tony was glad to comply. The god was exhausted and Tony needed to get out and think. He stepped out onto a balcony and took in the sights. It was sad that this whole city looked so beautiful when he arrived, and now it just looked dull and lifeless. He supposed that's what hearing bad news could do to people.

_Loki is going to die. _Tony's mind told him. _And there's nothing that I can do about it!_

He was angry.

No, that was an understatement.

He was furious.

Tony was mad at Loki for hiding it for so long, he was mad at everyone because they didn't see it, he was mad at the world for allowing Loki to come into his life, only to be ripped away, he was mad at Odin for treating his so badly, he was mad at Thor for not sensing something was wrong with his brother, and he was mad at this mysterious creature for doing this.

But most of all, he was mad at himself.

He was mad that he didn't see it.

For claiming to love the God of Mischief, Tony didn't pay enough attention to notice that something was extremely wrong with Loki. It was all there: the blindness, the pain, and the malfunctioning magic. All those things pointed to something being wrong.

He should have pushed Loki more to tell him what was wrong.

_But then, you would have been pushing him away. _A voice told him. _Loki would not have taken kindly to having his privacy invaded. _

Tony wanted to scream and punch something. Where was Doom when you needed the bastard?

"Dammit! Dammit, dammit!" Tony clenched his fist and pounded it into the stone in front of him. He didn't care if it hurt, he couldn't feel it anyway.

"I wouldn't do that, Anthony," a voice from behind him said quietly.

Tony whirled around to be greeted by Frigga and Thor. Both of them looked like they were about to breakdown and cry. Tony suspected that he looked similar. He held his left hand in his right, the stinging starting to set in.

"I take it he told you," Tony said slowly.

Frigga nodded.

"Is there nothing we can do?" Tony asked hopefully. If anyone could do anything, it would be the Queen of Asgard.

She shook her head sadly. "No, Loki's magic is the problem, but it's a part of him. We can't do anything without hurting him. It would be like removing a vital organ."

"How long?"

Thor shrugged his shoulders. "Loki can't say for sure yet. It could be days, weeks, or even years. It depends on how fast the poison spreads. Loki also said that over time, it will be harder for him to move as it spreads to his entire body."

In the light, Thor looked ragged, and tired. It was clear that nothing of this magnitude had ever happened to him before. He looked about as stable as Tony felt right now.

No other words could be uttered by the Midgardian hero. His brain seemed to have stopped working. He closed his eyes and will himself to stay together. Nothing would be more humiliating than seeing two Norse gods see him cry.

"He is asking to go home," Frigga said gently.

Tony's head snapped up.

Loki wanted to go home.

Home.

Stark Tower.

Their home.

He ran passed them and apologized, but he had to see Loki.

When he slid into the healing chambers, Loki was already dressed in casual Midgardian clothes, ready to leave. Tony had to admit, seeing Loki dressed in black jeans and a long- sleeve, green shirt still made him laugh. He was about to approach him, but he was speaking with the Allfather.

Tony slowly backed out to give them some privacy, he was only able to catch the end of their conversation.

"I only lied as much as I was lied to."

For some reason, that line made the inventor's chest tighten.

"I am truly sorry, Loki, my son," Odin sighed. "I have been blinded all these years. You have always been smarter and more independent than your older brother, he has always needed more attention. And I'm sorry for hiding your heritage. I was only trying to protect you."

Loki was thinking. "This still does not excuse you," he said slowly. "But perhaps in time, I will be able to forgive you."

Odin only nodded, he wanted to embrace his son, but thought that Loki would not appreciate the contact. He bid his son farewell and strode out of the healing rooms. On his way out he locked eyes with Tony Stark.

He said only one sentence to the human. "Do not hurt him."

"I give you my word," Tony replied and matched his gaze.

Odin stared at the mortal for a moment, and then departed.

Tony watched the Allfather go before he slipped into the room to join Loki.

"Are you sure you should be up?" Tony asked.

Loki walked towards him and smiled.

"I wish to go home, I don't want to spend the last moments of my life with anyone but you."

In ten minutes they were all prepared to leave.

* * *

Umm... I'm sorry?

Do not worry, this will have a happy ending. I know, because I wrote it already. :D

Feedback is wonderful!

- Nicholls


	11. Love Drunk

**Love Drunk**

Upon returning to Stark Tower, Tony and Thor informed the rest of the team once they settled back in. Loki had retreated to his room as soon as he walked through the front door, and wouldn't let anyone in, not that anyone expected him to do anything else. The team was still in shock after hearing that Loki was dying. Whoever this mysterious creature was, he was powerful.

"So how long does he have?" Steve asked, his face awash in worry.

Thor couldn't say exactly. "We don't know."

"The more he uses his magic," Bruce was musing out loud. "the faster the process…"

Tony nodded in agreement.

"We have to keep him from using it then," Steve said. "He's not going to like that."

Thor snorted. "The last time I told my brother not to do something, I ended up with a nephew."

The archer stared at the god with wide eyes. "Which one? The horse, snake or wolf?"

Thor just smiled and winked.

"Then missions are a no-go," Bruce said while cleaning his glasses. He was trying to keep calm and avoid hulking out. "But I'm not sure that we could stop him, if he protested."

"I'm positive that you could not," Loki said, leaning against the doorway.

The others turned around to stare at the God of Mischief.

"No offense of course," Loki replied slyly.

"None taken," Natasha said, she knew deep down that she could not defeat a god. But she could probably knock him down a few pegs though.

Loki walked in and took a seat next to Tony.

"So what happens now?" Steve asked.

"Now?" Loki said casually. "I am going to visit my children, one last time."

Thor stiffened. He remembered every time the Allfather cast out Loki's children in clear detail. How Odin could do that still mystified the Thunder God, he had mourned his nephews and niece for days.

Loki was many things, but a bad father was not one of them.

"Could I meet them?" Tony asked and hugged the god closer to his chest.

Loki smiled. "I'm sure Hel would like you, Fenrir too."

"What about George?"

"George?" Thor asked, his eyebrows knitted together. "You have another son, Loki?"

"No," Loki replied, and cast Tony a light glare. "That is Tony's nickname for Jörmungandr, as he cannot correctly pronounce his name."

"What is so difficult about saying Jörmungandr?" Thor directed his question to the genius.

"I am from Earth, Thor," Tony defended. "We have normal names here."

Loki elbowed him.

"Ow."

"You deserved it."

There was a brief spell of silence.

"Loki," Bruce said slowly. "What is the progression of this poison?"

Loki thought for a moment. "I'm not completely sure, doctor. So far it's been just pain, soon it will hinder me from performing daily tasks, such as walking. I can feel it, just as you feel you own body, I can feel my magic."

Thor looked at his brother with downcast eyes.

"I give myself about six months."

"Middle of April," Tony stated, his voice betraying his fear.

"Yes."

Tony stood up abruptly. "I need a drink."

He walked over to his bar and poured himself a large glass of scotch, and downed half of it in one gulp. Steve shook his head, clearly disapproving of Tony's habits. The soldier raised an eyebrow as Loki walked over to Tony, grabbed the glass, and tipped it into his mouth.

"If you wanted one," Tony winked, "all you had to do was ask."

"Aw hell," Clint said and slapped his knees. "I'll take one too."

"Make that two," Tasha also said and joined them.

Steve looked at Thor, who shrugged and joined his brother.

"This is not going to end well," Steve said and buried his face in his hands. Beside him Bruce nodded in agreement.

And two hours later, Steve was still regretting let them have alcohol.

Clint was hanging from the ceiling with a Nerf gun that Tasha had given him as a gag gift for his last birthday. He was firing off the little foam arrows at anyone who tried to un-stick him from his perch.

"Go away! This is my nest!" Clint roared, and fired an arrow at Thor.

The arrow bounced harmlessly off the god's forehead and fell to the floor.

"Gottcha!"

"Ah, friend Barton," Thor cheered. "That was a mighty fine shot!"

Clint saluted and reloaded.

Natasha had planted herself in front of the television and was re-watching _Midnight in Paris_, and pretending to interact with every character that came on screen. She kept muttering about how Hemmingway was a genius and it was such a shame that he died so unhappily.

Wait was she crying?

No… not Tasha.

"CLINT!" Tony bellowed. "GET YOUR BIRD FLU INFESTED ASS OFF MY CEILING!"

The only response that he got was Clint saying, "Caw caw motherfuckers!"

Tony threatened to get his suit and blast him down from his so called nest if he didn't obey. The threat fell on deaf ears as Clint hit Natasha with an arrow, causing the assassin to jump up and accidently hit Thor in the face.

Thor dropped his Pop Tart and looked at it forlornly as it lay on the floor. The sight was enough to break anyone's heart.

"Barton! I challenge you to a game!" Thor roared in defense of his fallen friend.

Hawkeye cackled. "Bring it Thunderbolt!"

Natasha stood as well. "Count me in boys!"

On the couch, Steve looked up from the paper and rolled his eyes. Oh, he had a bad feeling about this. Bruce had gone down to his lab, alcohol had negative side effects on the Other Guy, and he didn't want to take any chances.

Tony poured them each a glass of a random liquid.

"All right," he announced. "The last man," he looked at Tasha, "or woman standing wins!"

"Wait, wait!" Loki shouted and stood up from where he was lying on the ground. "I shall join you brother! We must show these Midgardians what we are made of!"

"Aye, brother!"

Twenty minutes later, Clint was on the ground and Natasha was lying next to him. He kept going on about how rare and beautiful unicorns were, and how he wished he could meet one.

"I would name it Francis," he babbled. "After yours truly. And I would brush his mane everyday!"

Tasha giggled. "Can I ride him?"

Clint roared with laughter. "Of course! That is, if Loki doesn't beat you to it."

"Hey!" Loki sputtered. "I'll have you know, Barton, that Svaðilfari came onto me! He found me very attractive!"

That statement caused Clint to dissolve into a fit of giggle. "You were the girl horse! Oh my God! Oh my God!"

He and Natasha rolled over, trying not to die laughing.

Tony had given up shortly after Natasha and Clint went down, he had to admit, that those Norse gods knew how to drink. Twenty-five shots later and they were still going strong, although Loki was looking a little tipsy.

"I should tell them of the time that Thor was in a dress!" Loki laughed and tripped over Tony. He went down and he and the billionaire laughed. "It was a great day!"

"My hammer was stolen! I had to retrieve it!"

"No excuse my friend!" Clint chuckled. "You dressed in drag!"

The two almost hurt themselves laughing so hard. Thor shot them a glare and toppled into the couch with a box of Pop Tarts. He stuffed one into his mouth moodily.

"Tooooonnnyyy!" Loki slurred. "Tony, I love you."

"I love you too," Tony smiled.

Clint and Natasha made gagging noises and continued laughing their asses off.

Loki suddenly stood up dramatically. "Tony! Do you know Shakespeare?"

Tony shook his head. "Not really, I slept through most of English class."

Loki sent him a pointed look, then he started to recite his favorite play.

_Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;  
Or close the wall up with our English dead.  
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man  
As modest stillness and humility:  
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,  
Then imitate the action of the tiger;  
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,  
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;  
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;  
Let pry through the portage of the head  
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it  
As fearfully as doth a galled rock  
O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,  
Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean.  
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,  
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit  
To his full height. On, on, you noblest English.  
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!  
Fathers that, like so many Alexanders,  
Have in these parts from morn till even fought  
And sheathed their swords for lack of argument:  
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest  
That those whom you call'd fathers did beget you.  
Be copy now to men of grosser blood,  
And teach them how to war. And you, good yeoman,  
Whose limbs were made in England, show us here  
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear  
That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;  
For there is none of you so mean and base,  
That hath not noble uster in your eyes.  
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,  
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:  
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge  
Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'_

The four of them started clapping enthusiastically and Clint was cheering.

"I have no idea what you just said, but that shit was awesome!"

"Shakespeare in the park," Tony smirked. "Doth mother know you weareth her drapes?"

"That was amazing, Loki," Natasha cheered. "I would have loved to meet William Shakespeare."

"Oh he was a great man," Loki said as he stumbled a bit. "Henry V was by far my favorite of his plays, closely followed by Hamlet."

"Oh my God," Clint groaned. "Have you met everyone?!"

"Look Steve!" Tony begged. "I have a glass for you!"

Steve looked up. "I can't get drunk, remember?"

Tony huffed put the glass up to his eyeball. "A tunnel! I found a tunnel!"

The captain went back to reading.

"I want some Shawarma," Tony announced proudly. "Let's go! Avengers assemble!"

Loki jumped up. "I'm with you! What is this 'Shawarma' you speak of?"

Tony's face lit up. "Oh, it's great, you'll love it!"

"Did someone say food?" Thor asked.

"I want food too!" Clint shouted and dragged Tasha to her feet.

"Jarvis!" Steve yelled. "Lock all the doors, in and out of the building."

"_Yes Mr. Rogers," _came Jarvis' reply. _"Is there anything else?"_

"I'll let you know," Steve said, eying the people in front of him. He may need backup.

Tony gave him his biggest sad face he could muster. "You're no fun, Uncle Steve. We want Shawarma!"

"Yeah!" Clint shouted and punched the air. "Assemble!"

"No, no! No assembling! No one is assembling!" Steve shouted as he tried to keep the grown men and woman, safely in the building, and away from the general public. Someone might accidentally _see_ them.

"Boo!"

"Clint," Steve tried to reason with the drunken man.

But the archer was going to have none of it. "I am not Clint! I am Arrow Man!" He grabbed his Nerf bow and shot a couple of arrows at Steve.

"And I am his sidekick," Natasha said and crossed her arms proudly. "The Ginger Ninja!"

Tony broke out into a fit of giggles. "That's great!" He howled. "Then I get to be Tony the Conqueror!"

"Conqueror of what?" Arrow Man scoffed. "Loki?"

"Hey!" Loki snapped. "I am Mischief Man! I know not of this 'Loki' that you speak of!"

"What fun, brother!" Thor boomed. "I shall be Thunderbolt! Lord of all Thunder!"

Loki and Tony were too busy rolling around on the ground laughing to hear the rest of what Thor was saying. "More like Thunderdolt!"

"Brother!"

Steve didn't know what else to do, so he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a couple of numbers. "Hey, how fast can you be here?"

"Loki! Come down here!" Tony roared.

"I am not Loki!" the Norse god teased from his place on the ceiling.

"Hey! That's my nest!" Hawkeye shouted. "Get down from there! No one is allowed in there but me!"

Loki only sighed and casually jumped down. "Food?"

"Food!" They all chorused. "Assemble!"

Just as they were about to walk to the door, it slammed open and in strode Agent Phil Coulson.

"Oh, fuck," Clint mumbled. "Supernanny is here."

* * *

I thought it needed something light, to brighten the mood. The plot resumes next chapter.


	12. Seize the Day

**Seize the Day**

"Oh, ho!" Tony guffawed, following in Clint's footsteps. "It's the Warden!"

Coulson slipped off his sun glasses even though it was dark out, Tony never did understand why he did such things, and walked into the room and crossed his arms. He surveyed the damage in front of him, and then tuned his pointed gaze onto the Avengers.

"Bed," he ordered. "Now."

"You're not my mom," Tony muttered under his breath.

Phil fixed him with a glare that could topple the Great Wall of China, and instantly the team scattered and ran to their rooms. Clint almost killed himself as he tripped over Loki's unconscious body. The god had passed out after he and Tony almost died laughing at Thor's expense.

The most amusing part was Tony trying to half carry, half drag Loki to his room.

Steve went about cleaning up the bottles and cans that lay across the living room, along with several Pop Tarts. He shook his head at the antics of his teammates, next time he would definitely not let them get this far.

He thanked Phil. "You really saved me."

Phil just smiled his slightly creepy SHIELD smile. "No problem, Mr. Rogers.

* * *

The next morning was hell. Thankfully no one threatened the city for a few days, because seventy-five percent of the Avengers were out of commission. Tony has had his fair share of hangovers, but this one took the cake (and probably ate it too). He didn't get out of bed for two days.

It really didn't help that Loki kept asking who hit him with Mjölnir, over and over again. If he asked one more time, Tony was half-tempted to go get the hammer himself.

A week passed in relative silence after the talk of Loki's condition and that really stupid night.

Which no one was allowed to speak about again.

* * *

"Tony," Loki said impatiently. "Tony, wake up."

Tony rolled over and pulled the covers over his head. "Just five more minutes," he mumbled.

Loki rolled his eyes and grabbed the sheets. In one quick movement, he yanked them off the bed bringing Tony down for the ride. The billionaire sat up, eyes darting around the room, and glared at the grinning Norse god.

"That was just mean Reindeer Games," Tony stuck out his bottom lip.

"I am sorry," Loki said insincerely, "but we must leave."

Tony rubbed his eyes. "Why?"

Loki sighed and ran a hand through his hair in annoyance.

"You do want to meet my children, correct?"

At those words, Tony's face lit up and reality hit him like a train. Right, today was the day Loki was taking him to meet the family. In the future, he really needed to listen better to what people were saying. Maybe that was what Pepper had been trying to tell him all these years.

"Just give me a couple minutes!" Tony said and ran into the bathroom to take a shower.

Loki walked downstairs into the living room where Steve and Bruce were watching television. He sat down on the couch, not really paying attention to the program.

"Loki," Steve said suddenly.

The god turned his attention to the super soldier.

"Will this trip require you to use your magic?"

Loki stared at him. "Yes."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Bruce asked quietly. "You have four children, using that much magic will surely shorten your time left by at least half, if not more."

The concern that the two of the men wore on their faces was enough to make Loki want to stay in the tower, but he had to see his children one last time. In a couple weeks time, he doubted that he would be able to muster the energy for the journey. It had to be now.

"I'm sorry for worrying you," Loki said calmly. "But this is something I must do."

"Taking Tony," Steve gasped. "That will drain you more! Why not leave him here and go yourself?"

Loki had considered that, but he loved the idiot engineer.

He wanted to show him his greatest creations while he was still around.

"I can't," that was all Loki had to say.

"But Loki, taking him will-" Steve tried to say something to convince the god not to go.

Loki silenced him as Tony came bounding down the stairs, his hair still wet from his shower.

"Ready?" He asked cheerfully.

Tony stopped in front of him, suddenly frowning. "Wait, how are we going to get there?"

Reaching up to grab the genius, Loki brought them together and teleported them out of the tower and over to Northern Scotland. They reappeared on the water's edge near Urquhart Castle. Tony couldn't believe the sight, the sun was shining and the water was so calm.

Loki wiped a trail of blood from his nose with his sleeve and joined Tony down by the water.

He brought his fingers to his mouth and whistled. The whistle was too high for normal humans to even comprehend. Tony watched as the water started to ripple. At first it was just a slight change, but then something exploded. He looked over at Loki, who was just smiling.

"Hello, Jörmungandr," Loki greeted fondly.

The massive snake bent his head down to nuzzle his father.

"Jörmungandr," Loki motioned to the man next to him. "This is Tony."

Jörmungandr looked down at the tiny mortal man and let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort.

Tony glared. The snake didn't like him, go figure.

"Jörmungandr," the god admonished. "Be nice, Tony is your new step-father."

At that statement the serpent turned and splashed the human with a huge wave of water. Tony sputtered and wrung the water out of his clothes, all the while glaring at anything that moved.

"Thanks," he muttered darkly. "I already had my shower this morning."

Jörmungandr stuck his tongue out and Tony did the same.

Wait.

Did he just stick his tongue out at Loki's son?

Shit.

"Jörmungandr, Tony, both of you need to stop it," the Trickster sighed. This was not the meeting that he envisioned in his mind.

"He started it," Tony defended himself.

Jörmungandr chuckled, at least Tony thought it was a chuckle. It was really hard to tell with him being a snake and all.

"I know. And I'm upset with him too."

"Ha!"

"Tony, don't taunt the Midgard Serpent."

"Sorry."

* * *

They stayed in Scotland for another couple hours, Loki had really missed his son and hit showed. He sat alone with Jörmungandr by the water just talking to him. Loki told his son about what happened since the last time they had met. He told him about the incident in Jotunheim, the Bifrost, joining the Avengers, falling in love with Tony, and about his illness.

Jörmungandr listened closely and his eyes drooped when he heard the last part. He nudged Loki as if to say, "I'm sorry."

Loki stroked his large nose and nodded.

An hour after that, Loki joined Tony at the top of the hill where the engineer had decided to take a quick nap.

Tony looked up in time to see Jörmungandr disappear underneath the water.

"Who's next?"

Loki thought for a moment. "Hel."

Tony gulped.

"Don't worry," Loki smiled. "She controls the dead, not the living."

"Duly noted."

Loki grasped the other man's hand and teleported.

The more times that Tony traveled using this mode of transportation, the more he disliked it, and wished they could just as easily fly there in his jet. They landed in Niflheim and Tony could tell that he hated the place already.

It was dark, gloomy, and it gave him the creeps.

The genius visibly jumped when Loki tried to steer him in the right direction.

"Warn a guy!" Tony yelped.

Loki grinned. "My apologies. I did not know that you startled so easily."

"Being in hell does that to people."

"We are in Niflheim, Tony. Hel is my daughter."

"Well, it's pretty chilly here," Tony said as his teeth chattered together.

Loki thought for a minute. "You must be thinking of Muspelheim, that is the world of fire."

"My bad."

"Ah," Loki said and moved to greet his child. "Tony, this is Hel, my youngest."

Tony really wasn't sure how to greet the ruler of the dead. A handshake just did seem to be right in this world.

"Hello Anthony Stark," Hel said, her voice like ice. "Perhaps I will have more time to talk to you when you pass away."

Tony's eyes grew wide.

"No, no, my dear," Loki said through a smile. "Tony here is a warrior, an Avenger."

Hel regarded him carefully. "Pity, he looks very interesting."

"I'm sorry, miss," Tony replied. "But I'm not sure how to react here."

Hel smiled. "Many people have that same problem in my presence."

"Oh good," Tony sighed.

The goddess turned to her father and whispered, "I like him, where did you find him?"

"Midgard," Loki said. "I live there now."

Hel raised an eyebrow. "Really? Tell me more."

* * *

When Loki was done having a heart to heart with his daughter, he asked if Tony was ready to go. The bearded man would have run out of the icy world if he could. It scared the crap out of him. Loki only chuckled at his lover's discomfort and grabbed his hand.

Loki bid farewell to his daughter and teleported them to their next destination.

The two of them landed in a world with a few trees, snow, and nothing else. Tony walked to the edge of the piece of land and looked down, afterwards he almost wished he didn't. It was as if they were on a giant floating slab of dirt. There was nothing beneath them but a strange mist. He kicked a rock off the edge and waited for the sound of impact.

None came.

Well then, that was almost as creepy as the land of the dead.

Almost.

He looked back at Loki who was rolling around in the snow with a massive brown wolf.

"That must be Fenrir," Tony deadpanned.

Fenrir licked his father's face affectionately and barked playfully.

Loki spotted Tony and almost forgot that the mortal was here. He motioned for Tony to come closer and Fenrir eyed him with distrust.

"Fenrir, this is Tony. Tony, Fenrir. My eldest child."

Tony reached out and softly stroked the wolf's fur. It took a second, but Fenrir warmed up to Tony, eventually tackling him and licking his face like he had done to Loki. Out of all Loki's kids so far, Tony decided that he liked Fenrir the most.

"Where are we?" Tony asked, petting Fenrir's back.

"This place is called Lyngvi," Loki replied. "It is where Fenrir is destined to stay until Ragnarok."

"That's awful."

"If you think that's bad," Loki eyed the sword lying next to one of the few trees. "Odin placed that weapon over there in my son's mouth, so he couldn't close it. Fortunately I found him before any lasting damage could be done."

Okay it was official, Tony Edward Stark would never ever understand Asgard. Never.

He couldn't imagine anyone doing that to a child, even if he was a wolf, that didn't excuse anything. It was still someone's kid. Loki's kid.

"Can I talk to Fenrir for a moment, Tony?"

"Oh, sorry!" Tony jumped up, starting to feel like the awkward third wheel on this trip. "I'll be over here, not freezing my ass off."

Tony walked over to a couple of trees and sat down again. He kept thinking about how much energy Loki was expending by bringing him along on this little vacation. Hell, how much energy was Loki using just to teleport himself? Doing this would shorten the god's little remaining time by a considerable amount.

Then again, this was the last chance for Loki to be with his children. The god deserved that much, and if Loki was willing to shorten his time for them, who was Tony to object? It was best not to argue with the God of Mischief, not that Tony could do much to change his course of thinking anyway.

Loki walked up a while later and told Tony it was time to visit Sleipnir next. The engineer stood, briefly wondering what time it was back on Earth. That thought was quickly replaced by one that went, "Oh dear Lord, not this again," as Loki teleported them.

* * *

The two were transported to the stables where Loki said Sleipnir was most likely kept at this hour. They walked towards the building and Loki stumbled a bit, but caught himself. Tony eyed him, but Loki waved his hand dismissively.

Sleipnir was where Loki thought. The horse made a noise of joy when he saw his father approach the stalls.

Tony had to admit, the eight legs really threw him for a loop.

"Sleipnir, this is Tony."

The horse looked him up and down, then after deciding that he approved of the man, he nuzzled Tony's face. The mortal smiled and stroked Sleipnir's head. This one he liked a lot.

Tony kept watch in case any guards wandered passed, while Loki talked softly with his son. He decided that it must be late at night by Earth standards, but he didn't want this journey to end. When it did, it meant that Loki would never return to his children. Tony bent his head, none of this was going the way he thought it would.

_I was never supposed to outlive Loki, _Tony thought. _I'm the one who was supposed to go first._

Loki petted Sleipnir's head one last time and returned to Tony's side.

"Ready?"

Tony took one last look at Sleipnir, who was watching them with sad eyes.

"If you are," Tony replied softly.

Loki nodded and grabbed his hand.

The next thing Tony knew, he was back in their bedroom on Earth. Loki immediately collapsed on the bed, completely drained. The god hadn't even bothered to change. Crawling into bed, Tony checked the alarm clock next to him, it read: 11:08 P.M.

He pulled Loki closer to him under the covers and kissed his forehead. Loki opened his eyes.

"Thank you for coming today, Tony."

"I wouldn't have missed it for anything. Your children really are beautiful."

Loki nodded tiredly.

The brown eyed man looked back at the clock.

It was 11:10 P.M.

"Loki, quick make a wish!" Tony urged. "Quickly!"

Loki was confused but he complied with Tony's request.

"I wish we could stay like this forever," he closed his eyes and mumbled into Tony's chest. "Just like this."

Tony hugged the god closer and stared at the clock again. "So, do I, Loki. So do I."

11:11 P.M.

* * *

I love all of Loki's kids, especially Fenrir or Fenris.

College starts tomorrow!

Feedback is much appreciated.


	13. Let Me Go

**Let Me Go**

It had been roughly a month and a half after Loki and Tony had visited the god's four children, each in different parts of the galaxy from one another. The trip had been extremely difficult on the Trickster, who hid most of his pain throughout their journey.

Just as Bruce had feared, the magic that Loki had used caused his condition to deteriorate even faster than before. There were no outside indicators to show that Loki was ill, no sores, rashes, or discoloration, but the god could feel it as clearly as he felt Tony's arms around his shoulders.

He knew he didn't have much time left, and that that didn't scare him. What scared him most was leaving Tony behind.

Tony.

The man was worried.

The first time Loki tripped, Tony assumed it was because of the uneven ground that had been blown to bits by HYDRA's weapons. The team had just taken down another fraction of Viper's army and was cleaning up, when Loki fell to one knee.

Instantly, Tony was at his side, making sure he was all right. The god merely swatted the genius's hand away and stalked off in the direction of the Tower. In his furious wake stood Iron Man, trying to figure out what on Earth he had done wrong.

The second time came when Loki was locked in a heated battle with Bullseye and a couple of other lower class villains. He felt a sharp pain radiate up his leg, and instantly everything went numb. The assassin managed to bring his heel down on Loki's leg, bending it at an awkward angle. Loki swore as his vision swam and the rest of his body locked. Bullseye elbowed him in the chest, and the God of Mischief pitched back into the dirt.

He was saved though by the timely arrival of two of the Team's own trained assassins. Clint and Natasha worked in perfect harmony as they drove Bullseye back, away from the injured figure.

"Tony!" Clint shouted in the communication link. "Loki's down!"

Over the link, Natasha could hear Tony mumble something that sounded like the word "Fuck" being repeated over and over again. She checked on the god out of the corner of her eye. He seemed all right for the moment.

Loki wrenched his dislocated knee back into its socket as Tony landed right in front of his face.

"Are you okay?" Tony said worriedly.

Loki glared, his emerald eyes on fire. "Yes! Stop asking me that!"

Tony recoiled. "I was just asking, Reindeer Games, geez."

"And stop calling me that!"

"Loki…"

As soon as the name left Tony's mouth, Loki was nowhere to be found. The team loaded the remaining criminals on the Quinjet as Tony barely seemed to notice anything around him. Tasha walked up to him.

"We've got it here, Stark. Go."

Tony nodded, giving her a thankful glance, and took off into the sky.

It didn't take him long to track the god down. He touched down on one of New York's many bridges, and found Loki with his long legs dangling over the edge. His armor lay discarded on the black pavement.

"Hey," Tony said slowly. "Loki, listen to me."

Loki jumped up, wincing slightly as he put pressure on his right leg.

"No, you _LISTEN_, Stark," he ground out, his eyes flashing dangerously. "I am not a child! I don't need your constant protection and worrisome face following me wherever I go!"

Tony popped his faceplate up. "I'm just-"

"I have lived more lifetimes than you could even imagine!" The god snarled. "In Asgard, I am a Prince, and I will be treated as such!"

"Look," Tony pleaded. "I'm sorry! God, I didn't know that it bothered you that much."

Loki scoffed.

"That's not polite."

"You think I care, Stark? I am not a young maiden that will break at the slightest touch!" Loki practically shrieked. "I am a _god_!"

The engineer watched as his boyfriend basically had a mental breakdown in front of him. Loki's hair was disheveled, and his eyes were bright and filled with anger. And Tony was pretty sure that there was a vein on the god's head that was so large it could be its separate entity. He wasn't going to mention that thought at the moment though.

"I'm worried about you, you moron!" Tony shouted back. "Do you know how much this is hurting me?!"

Loki glared. "I'm the one dying, Stark! Remember?"

"I remember, Loki," Tony mumbled. "Look, I understand that you-"

Loki let out a deep laugh that was borderline psychotic. "You _think_ that you understand what I'm going through?"

There was a clash of metal on metal, as Loki's vambrace slammed into Tony's suit, knocking the billionaire back a few steps.

"As I said before, human," Loki snarled. "I have lived for thousands of years! Your life is over in a mere eighty, don't _EVER_ presume to know what I'm going or have lived through!"

The god pounded harder on the metal suit, and Tony let him.

"I have seen the depths of the Nine Realms, and let me tell you right now, Stark. If you knew what I saw in that void, you would never assume to know anything about me! You have no clue of what I'm going through!" Loki shouted as he continued to pummel Iron Man's armor.

"I'd like to try," Tony said solemnly. "Please, just let me try, Loki. This is hard for you, I get that."

Loki's fists stop their assault on Tony's armor, and he crumples to the pavement, bringing the other man with him. Wrapping his limbs around the god is a little weird because he's still wearing the suit, but Tony manages it.

If hot tears hit the ground, Tony ignored them to preserve Loki's dignity. He never mentioned them.

"Is there nothing we can do?" Tony whispered.

Loki said nothing.

"What about having Odin turn you mortal? Then the disease wouldn't have any magic to feed on."

Loki jerked his head up. "How about we remove your arc reactor and see how long _you_ survive?" He snapped.

"Are you saying it will kill you?" Tony asked, eyes wide.

"Of course you dullard!"

Tony felt sheepish. "I'm sorry."

"I'm tired of everyone's pity."

"We don't pity you."

Loki snorted. "I'm sure. The God of Mischief, brought down to his knees by a virus. Oh, how surprising. Someone tricked the Trickster!"

Tony winced.

"It's not like that," Tony supplied, the moment was escalating back up to homicidal levels again. This was not good.

"Just leave me alone!"

"Loki! Stop!" Tony tried to reason. "Just come home, please."

The God of Mischief sent the other man a withering glare.

"Why bother?" He mumbled darkly. "I belong nowhere! Asgard never wanted a Jotun prince within her kingdom, even if he did look like everyone else. Jotunheim is practically destroyed because of me. They will not be so forgiving, I imagine."

"Earth is-"

Loki scoffed.

"You think I belong here with you, don't you? I was around long before your kind even learned how to use fire!" Loki cried. "I am an Asgardian prince without a throne, the rightful heir of a race of monsters, and stuck in this realm."

Tony froze.

"_Now, kneel before me, mortal," Loki snarled. "Just like the rest of this pitiful planet will."_

"_Uh, newsflash, bucko," Tony glared up at the god. "This 'pitiful planet' is your home! You've been living here for a year!"_

"_I have no home," Loki growled. "Now if you'll excuse me," he raised his spear. _

"Just listen to me all right you wackjob," Tony grabbed him roughly by either arm.

Loki hissed. "Unhand me mortal!"

"Stop fighting me! I'm not your enemy!"

The god stiffened.

"I know what you're doing, Loki," Tony said softly. You're pushing everyone away. Look, I get it. I did it too a year ago. But please don't push _me_ away, Loki."

Loki made to wrench himself out of Tony's grip and teleport away. Unfortunately for him, the engineer's grasp on his arms held firm. When the teleportation spell finished, the two crash landed in the bedroom of one Tony Stark. Tony shook his head to clear his vision, and he noticed they were back in the tower.

He didn't have time to react before Loki tackled him to the floor, hard. Without thinking, Tony kicked him off, causing the god to hit the opposite wall.

"Loki!" Stark shouted. "I happen to like the decorations in here. So stop breaking them!"

The god growled and shoved Tony backwards.

"Do you ever stop talking?" Loki hissed.

"No," came the response as Iron Man pinned the Norse deity to the carpet.

Loki growled and tried to buck Tony off of him.

"Do you want me to punch you?" Tony threatened. "Cause I'll punch you if that's what you want."

All the genius received was a glare from the Asgardian prince.

"Just stop fighting me, Loki!" Tony shouted. God, you are such an idiot! You belong with me! Here in this tower, on Earth!"

_Tears were threatening to fall from Tony's eyes as he shouted. "YOUR HOME IS WITH ME!" He smashed his fists into the ground, his head bowing forward almost touching together._

_Loki froze._

_Tony had said "me", not "us" like he had said when he was trying to convince Thor to let the god stay on earth. He said "me."_

"_You belong with me, Loki," Tony said softly, tears hitting the ground. _

Instantly, Loki's face was devoid of all anger and rage. He looked older and tired as he slumped into Tony's chest plate. His shoulders sagged as he pressed his head against Tony's cold, metal suit.

"I'm sorry," Loki mumbled.

Tony removed one of his gauntlets and stroked the god's dark, black hair. "It's okay, Loki. You're at the second stage."

"What?"

"The Kübler-Ross model," Tony said. "Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance."

Green eyes flickered up to Tony's brown ones.

"I think I'll just skip to the end."

Tony didn't say a word, his brain had stopped working for the moment.

* * *

Later, everyone was gathered in the main living room, clothes changed from their most recent battle. Thor was fighting Clint on the PS3, Steve and Bruce were reading, and Nat was watching the boys holler at the large television.

The god stared at them, what he wouldn't give for it to stay like this. Just like this.

Tony glanced at the god, reading his mind like an open book.

"Bargaining," the engineer whispered."

Loki looked down. "I think I hit depression a while ago too."

Tony shrugged. "It was mostly anger, but yeah, I'll give you depression too."

They settled on one of the couches opposite of the two immature boys. Loki couldn't help but think how much has changed. He never would have thought that he would have friends that cared that much about him. Sure, he had Thor's friends growing up, but they were never his. He was always Thor's little brother that the Warriors Three put up with so Thor wouldn't pummel them.

Loki looked over at Tony on his right.

The man was far from perfect, but he was his. Tony was the first real friend he had.

It was strange that he had made friends with the Avengers instead of Thor. To them, he was Loki, not the second Prince of Asgard. They knew, and accepted him for who he was. Sometimes he thought about what his life would have been like if he had been born on Midgard instead of Asgard. He could have lived a normal life with the engineer.

Could have.

Reality hit him as a jolt ran through his body, sharply reminding him that this was not part of his imagination.

"Loki?" Tony asked. "I know you hate this, but, are you all right? You were staring."

The others stopped what they were doing and turned to stare at the couple.

Loki felt his face becoming hot from all of the attention.

"Yes," he nodded. "I'm fine. Now."

* * *

Holy angst, Batman!

Cheers!

I love feedback, it helps me write better in the future.


	14. Don't Stop Believing

**Don't Stop Believing**

**December 11****th**

The billionaire kept babbling about this holiday called Christmas that was fast approaching. Tony had roped the other Avengers into decorating the tower with him. It was amusing to watch from the couch, as Steve and Bruce attempted to set the tree down in the corner.

Thor was doing his best to hang the mistletoe at Jane's directions, and Darcy wasn't helping by trying to push the two underneath it. Loki smirked, the two had been back for two days from their stint in New Mexico, and already Darcy was causing trouble. He liked her.

Suddenly the alarm went off, well, evil doesn't sleep… or however the saying goes. Loki watched as Thor almost fell off the ladder and the tree fell back down onto Steve.

Mortals.

Tony quickly kissed the Liesmith goodbye and ran for his suit.

It irked him that he could no longer accompany them on their missions, but it sometimes even hurt to blink some days. Other days he could work out with Tony and Steve in the gym, and the next he would be stuck in bed. It was a vicious cycle.

Thor thought it would be best if Jane and Darcy waited in his room until they got back. Both girls had protested that they did not need protecting, and Darcy had even brought out her trusty taser to show him. None the less, he escorted them to where he thought was safe.

He looked back at Loki who threw him the nastiest glare he could, that said: "If-you-try-and-move-me-I-will-smite-you."

That was the end of _that_ conversation.

Loki was alone in the room surrounded by a bunch of half set up Christmas decorations. He sighed at the mortal's inability to put up simple things such as this. Waving his hand in a circular motion, Loki instantly decorated the entire tower, inside and out.

Only after he had done it, he realized it had been a big mistake.

He became very tired all of a sudden, and shut his eyes as pain coursed through his injured body and his stomach felt like someone had punched him. Despite this, Loki had a smile on his face as he drifted off to sleep.

Two hours later the team came back to be greeted with sparkling lights, a fully decorated tree, and other Christmas related objects around the tower. Tony took one look at the sleeping form of Loki on the couch and debated on whether he should kiss him, or kick his ass.

"Loki shouldn't really be using his magic for things like this," Tony mumbled.

Captain America only smiled and picked up one of the Iron Man ornaments. "He wanted to do this for you, Tony. Don't be so hard on him."

Tony glared. "How can I not? He's shortening his life for me! A mortal who will die anyway in twenty some years."

"He loves you."

Tony ran a hand over his face. "Yeah, I know, that's why I'll never forgive myself."

Steve sadly looked at the retreating back of his friend as he walked towards the bar.

**December 12****th**

Loki felt the effects of using his magic the next day. When Tony woke him up that following morning it felt like he was sleeping on a bed of burning nails. Every fiber in his body protested at even the slightest bit of movement. He bit his lip and a tiny amount of blood dripped onto the sheets.

The other male instantly jumped up and asked if there was anything that he could do, but Loki only clenched his teeth harder.

"Loki…" Tony hated being this useless to people. This mind was racing, trying to figure out something that he could do. Painkillers? No, the form in front of him was a god, he doubted anything would dull what Loki was experiencing.

He ran to the bathroom to grab a couple of towels when Loki started to throw up over the side of the bed. The god hadn't been eating well lately, so there was not much food present in his stomach. Tony held the dark haired man's hair as he continued to dry heave after expelling what little food he had eaten the night before.

Tony cradled Loki in his arms after the god's body had finally decided to listen. A washcloth was pressed to his forehead, and he was sleeping, having passed out after the whole ordeal.

**December 15****th**

Today was one of the rare good days. Loki was spread out on his back, watching the snow fall onto his body. He loved the snow, probably came with being a Frost Giant, he guessed. Turning his head, he watched Tony and Thor build snowmen, although Thor's was a woman.

Probably Jane.

Loki did a little twirl with his finger and instantly an eight foot tall snowman of himself appeared next to Tony.

"Showoff."

The god only smiled, showcasing all of his shiny, white teeth.

Out of nowhere, a snowball whizzed by and smacked Thor straight in the face.

"Gotcha! Earth: 1, Asgard: 0!" Clint crowed from his place in a tree.

Thor smirked and readied his own snowball.

"Be careful, honey," Jane said. "Don't break him."

"Yeah, Tasha wouldn't like that," Darcy yelled and flung a snowball at Steve.

An all-out war broke out. On one side was: Thor, Darcy, Jane, and Bruce vs. Tony, Loki, Clint, Natasha, and Steve. Some felt that the teams were uneven, but Thor counted as two people most of the time anyway, well, as far as food was concerned.

"Ack!" Tony sputtered as he got a face full of snow. "That's it!"

The war continued until Coulson arrived with Pepper. They had been discussing urgent matters and came to talk to the rest of the team, before they were roped into the fight. They joined Thor's team, and man did Phil have an arm on him.

Clint was bowled over by a massive snowball that knocked him clean out of his perch in the tree. He yelled something in Russian, Tony guessed, and was met with a barrage of snow. It was safe to say that Clint was no longer happy.

This went on for another hour before Loki decided to end it. He snapped his fingers and a colossal wave of snow flattened Thor's team, effectively ending the war.

"Checkmate, brother," Loki smirked.

Thor's head popped out of the snow. "Ah, well played. Though, it was cheating."

"God of Mischief," Loki said and pointed to himself.

With Team Thor demolished, they proceeded inside for cups of hot chocolate with mini-marshmallows. Tony had to stop Loki after his fifth cup.

**December 16****th**

"Hey, there, Rudolf."

Loki looked up from the book he was reading and was met with Tony.

That is, Tony wearing absolutely _nothing_.

Almost immediately the book was tossed aside, and the Avengers didn't hear from the two for almost a day. Steve's face had gone a bright shade of red when Clint explained what he had heard when he walked passed their door that evening.

Nothing else was said on the matter.

**December 17****th**

The two of them sat on top of Stark Tower and watched the snow fall. Loki kept catching snowflakes and saying how beautiful they were. Even when Tony told him that no two were alike, Loki took that as a challenge. After an hour or so of searching for two identical flakes, Loki grew bored with the act and focused on something else.

"Loki?"

"Hmm?" The god replied.

Tony squeezed his hand gently. "Are you afraid?"

Loki turned to look at the man beside him. "Of dying?" He asked. "No, not really."

"How can you say that?" The engineer said incredulously.

Loki shrugged. "I've lived for thousands of years, Tony. I watched others die around me many times."

"Still," Tony bit his lip. "I just thought everyone was afraid to die."

The God of Mischief closed the gap between them, and captured Tony's mouth with his, as if this simple gesture could take all of Tony's fear away. Loki hated watching Tony beat himself up over this whole ordeal. Couldn't the man see that Loki didn't blame him for anything?

Tony smiled despite the situation at hand and relaxed visibly, that is until the door to the roof rattled on its hinges as Clint flung it open.

"Hey you two lovebirds," he greeted with a smirk. "We're watching Christmas movies. You in?"

"Such as?" Tony asked.

"Frosty the Snowman, the Grinch, Rudolf, and a couple others," Clint shrugged. "Tasha made hot chocolate."

Loki's head popped up at the mention of his favorite beverage.

Tony laughed. "I guess we're in."

"Great!" The archer clapped, and led the way.

* * *

"Oh my God!" Clint yelled. "Are you crying, dude?"

Loki shot him a glare. "No! There's just something in my eye."

"Uh huh," Natasha smiled. Honestly, that was the oldest excuse in the book.

"That girl just reminds me of Hel, that's all."

"Your daughter who rules the underworld?" Bruce asks curiously.

Loki nodded.

"Lucy reminds you of _her_?!" Clint gawked and Tasha elbowed him off the couch. "Hey!"

"She's actually really nice, in a different way," Tony said. "Although where she lives is a bit misty and cold."

"It's Niflheim," Loki facepalmed. "Of course it's cold."

"I'm sorry," Tony feigned shock. "I didn't know that!"

"Really, how hard is it to remember? There's Asgard, Alfheim, Vanaheim, Midgard, Jotunheim, Svartalfheim, Nidavellir, Muspelheim, and Niflheim."

"Aye," Thor said nodding in agreement. "It is not difficult to memorize the Nine Realms, my friend."

"Well," Tony said, sending the two gods a glare. "I was not born in Asgard. I'm normal."

On the couch, Pepper snickered.

Tony elected to ignore her.

After the fourth movie, everybody had passed out in various states in the living room. Thor and Clint were on the floor drooling, Natasha was in the armchair, Pepper had gone home, Steve and Bruce were on one couch, and Tony and Loki on the other.

Thankfully only Thor and Clint got into the alcohol this time, the archer really didn't learn that he could not out drink a Norse god, no matter how hard he tried. Tony decided he was going to wake Cupid up tomorrow with some cymbals or something equally obnoxious.

**December 18th**

At around two in the afternoon, Loki was sleeping uneasily on the couch when Coulson walked in carrying a stack of files. The agent waited patiently for the shit storm he knew was coming his way from Tony Stark.

"Coulson!" Tony yelled. "What the hell are you doing?"

Yup, there he was, right on time.

"I have files for Mr. Laufeyson to read over, they are regarding Victor von Doom and Magneto's recent partnership."

Tony planted himself between the sleeping god and the SHIELD agent.

"Well, they can wait until tomorrow," the engineer hissed.

"I'm afraid they cannot."

"My house, my rules, Coulson."

"I'll take a look."

Tony spun around. "Loki, really, you don't have to. SHIELD's just being pushy like they always are."

Loki pushed himself onto his elbows and winced, Tony moved to help him, but Loki swatted his attempts away.

"I'm fine," he snapped through gritted teeth. "I'm dying, not a cripple."

"Sorry," Tony mumbled.

Loki sighed. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you."

The god accepted the files from Coulson and opened the first one. "What is it you want me to do?"

Coulson fingered his sunglasses. "Just tell us what they are planning. Doom has been using a lot of magic as of late, seemingly breaking Magneto's followers out of prison. We need to know if that is all he is doing, or if his magic is for something else entirely."

"Why couldn't you just ask us?" Tony narrowed his eyes. "We are the Avengers, after all."

"Loki is the expert on magic, Mr. Stark."

"It's true," Loki said nodding. "Asking Thor would get you absolutely nowhere."

Tony had to admit that it was true, but still, something didn't sit right with him. What was Doom planning? After the agent and Loki were done discussing, he led Coulson out to the door and ordered Jarvis to not allow anyone in unless authorized by his truly.

When the man went back to the living room with a glass of water for his boyfriend, he found the god fast asleep again on the couch. Tony walked up and checked for a pulse, when he found one he set the glass down on the coffee table and covered the sleeping form with a blanket. It worried him that Loki's face seemed to be in a perpetual state of agony nowadays.

He walked back down to his lab to work on the latest Mach model. As he was walking it hadn't even occurred to him that he had been checking Loki's pulse every time he found the god asleep somewhere.

Tony's subconscious couldn't let Loki go, not yet.

The engineer slid his fingers through his brown hair as his other hand clicked away on his computer. He brought up his most recent scans of Loki's body, and the progression of the virus. Just as Loki predicted, it was a lot harder for the god to move, as the disease made its way up his torso. Tony had tried suggesting putting up shields to slow the progression, but Loki had dismissed that idea.

Putting up shields would only make the times left even more painful, as the virus apparently fed on Loki's magic. After that, Tony had officially run out of ideas.

Angrily, Tony tapped away at his keyboard, trying to focus his mind on something else that wasn't slowly slipping away from him. About twenty minutes later, Tony heard someone coming down the stairs.

"Loki, you should be resting," Tony mumbled, all the while not taking his eyes off of the screen and the machinery in front of him. If there was a way to save the stubborn god, Tony would find it.

"I am not my brother," a voice said from behind the human.

Tony almost jumped out of his chair.

"Good Lord, Thor," Tony yelped and clutched his arc reactor. "We need to put a bell on you!"

Thor looked sheepish. "My apologizes, Man of Iron."

Tony waved dismissively. "No, it's fine, never mind. What do you need Big Guy?"

"I would like to thank you, for helping my brother," Thor said slowly.

Tony tilted his head a bit, he was slightly confused. "Umm… your welcome?"

There was an awkward pause.

"I mean," Thor mumbled. "I need to ask you something important."

"Oh," the shorter man dropped the wrench he was using and brushed his hands off. "Okay, shoot."

The God of Thunder pulled over a chair and sat down in front of the other man.

"I wish to take Loki back with me to Asgard," Thor said.

"Wait," Tony snapped. "Now?"

Thor's eyes widened. "No, you misunderstand, friend Stark."

"Explain, then," Tony eyed him warily.

"I know that my brother now thinks of Midgard as home," the god started. "and I am slightly familiar with some of your customs."

Tony listened patiently, he knew that Thor mostly liked to hit people rather than talk philosophy and other more insightful topics. But he wanted to hear what the god had to say, he was curious after all.

"I ask your permission to take my brother back to Asgard after he…" Thor trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

It didn't matter if the god opposite of him said the word or not, Tony finished it for him.

_Dies._

Didn't he have this sort of conversation with the God of Mischief yesterday?

It was easier for Tony to talk about this particular subject when Loki was up and walking around, instead of confined to the living room couch. But honestly, this wasn't something that he had given a second thought to. What would he do with Loki? It was kind of morbid to think about.

Tony sighed. "I won't be the one to stand in the way of family," he sighed. "I know you, your mother, and your pirate-father, would be happy if Loki could be given a proper burial on Asgard."

The Thunder God smiled solemnly. "I thank you Tony Stark."

"Don't thank me, he's your family after all."

Thor looked at Tony, his blue eyes trained on the human's face.

"You love him too, Tony," Thor said evenly. "You may visit him as many times as you like. I will let Heimdall know."

The billionaire picked up his tool again. "Thank you, Thor," he said softly and turned back to his machines.

The Asgardian nodded, and took that gesture as his cue to leave.

"Please inform me if you require anything else, Man of Iron. I shall do my best to grant you whatever you need."

"Thanks, Point Break."

Thor frowned a bit, he still did not understand that reference, but he let it go this time. The sliding door quietly closed behind him as he walked back up the stairs towards the rest of the team.

The second Thor left the workshop, Tony swiftly stood up, his chair falling over behind him, and forcibly threw the piece of tech he was holding against the wall. The poor object smashed against the plaster and fell uselessly to the floor in pieces. Tony stood there, unmoving, his mind a thousand miles away.

_Loki…_

Stark clenched his fists and stormed up the stairs. If Loki's time on Earth was going to end, Tony was going to make sure that it would be the best. He made his way back to the living room, and spotted the god still asleep on the couch where he had left him. Curling himself up to the other man, Tony wrapped his arms around him.

He breathed in deeply, taking in scent of Loki's hair, unlike the mortal, the god took personal hygiene very seriously. Though he was slightly OCD about the whole issue, Tony loved him for it.

"Tony?" Loki mumbled sleepily. "What are you doing?"

"Appreciating you," Tony lightly smirked. "Is that okay?"

"Always," Loki smiled.

Tony pulled the god closer to his chest.

"Loki, I promise, that I will make your last days on this planet count. Where do you want to go? What do you want to see?"

Loki opened his emerald eyes and stared at the human, a smile playing on his thin lips. "Tony, I have been around all the Nine Realms more times than I care to remember. I have seen sights that would shock you, either from beauty or fright, I'm not exactly sure which," he teased.

Tony agreed. "I just thought I could give you something wonderful before- well- you know."

Taking Tony's hand in his, Loki locked eyes with the billionaire ex-playboy philanthropist in front of him, the smile never leaving his face.

"I already have everything I could ever want, right here. Thank you, Tony."

* * *

We are getting closer to the end, people.

I really wish I could write romantic and inmate scenes, but it might burn your eyes out with how horrible and awkward it is. Kudos to those who can write that stuff, I envy you.

Let me know what you think, only a couple to go.


	15. Daylight

**Daylight**

**December 22****nd**

Today was not one of Loki's good days at all. He awoke to his chest in knots and his legs feeling like they were on fire. Cursing, he lies back down and hopes it will pass. Next to him Tony stirs and mumbles a good morning. Loki only stiffly returns the sentiment.

Tony's eyes shoot open, and he knows it's one of _those_ days.

Loki lies in their bed, unable to move a muscle. Silently he curses that creature that did this to him and wishes he could find him and beat him with his spear. But he pushes that thought away as the bed moves as Tony gingerly stands up. The sudden movement sends jolts up his spine that make him bite down in an attempt to not scream. Tony apologizes profusely and Loki only smiles a bit to show him that it wasn't his fault.

"I can handle it," Loki bit out.

Tony stroked the raven hair out of his lover's face. "I never doubted it."

Loki clenched his teeth as another wave hit him like a bus.

"Loki," Tony said all serious. "Don't use your magic again. Promise me."

The god never got a chance to answer the billionaire before the alarm rang through the tower and Tony's cell phone began playing chords from Black Sabbath's _Iron Man_.

Fury.

He pressed the button, and pressed the device to his ear. Loki could hear the director on the other line shouting about something or another, he couldn't quite make out the words. All he knew that Tony's eyebrows knitted together in worry.

"On our way," Stark replied and cut the connection.

Loki waited for Tony to tell him what was going on.

"Fury said that a couple of villains, one of which is Magneto, and a couple of Doom's henchmen, have taken hostages downtown."

"Best be going then, Iron Man."

Tony didn't want to leave Loki, it physically hurt him to see the god like this.

So vulnerable.

"Go," Loki ordered. "Jane or Darcy can sit with me if it will help you."

Tony nodded. "All right, I'll ask," he said and kissed Loki goodbye. "I'll be back before you know it."

* * *

Downtown was complete chaos. Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants were running wild as the city burn around them. Captain America clearly was upset and let the nearest mutant know it. He smashed his shield into their stomach, and they crumpled to the ground in a heap. The other mutants watched in fear.

"Hawkeye and Widow, take out as many as you can. Hulk and Thor, keep the remaining mutants within this space, I don't want any getting away from us. Tony and I will try to help as many people to safety as possible."

Mutants were stronger than most ordinary people, but when faced down with a lightning wielding Norse god and a giant, green rage monster, most of them opted to flee. Though, some of them decided to stay and Thor hand no qualms about hitting them with his mighty hammer.

Fury had alerted the medical teams and firemen to assist with the evacuation. Fire trucks and ambulances soon arrived on the scene to help with the civilians. It took over three hours, but most of the people were out of the danger zone, and only a few unchecked mutants remained.

Tony was flying around, making sure everyone got out all right, when something heavy hit him sending him crashing to the pavement. His suit groaned as he tried to stand up, only to be flung several meters away into a crumbling building.

His attacker floated overhead.

"Oh, it's you," Tony drawled. "Long time no see, Bucket Head."

Above him, Magneto scowled at the nickname.

Tony stood up just in time to see Magneto tackled by Thor. The Asgardian prince knocked the supervillian clear into next Tuesday. He raised Mjölnir over his head and brought it crashing down. Magneto had only a second to respond and his hands flew up, stopping the hammer in its tracks. Thor frowned and was thrown backwards into Captain America.

_Oh this is not good. _Tony thought. Mjölnir was made out of metal, so was Cap's shield, Clint's arrows, Natasha's knives, and his suit.

Magneto moved his hand and the Captain's shield found its way out of its owner's grasp. The mutant flung the shield at Hawkeye, catching the archer in the abdomen. Clint went down as the force of impact threw him off his feet.

The metal on Natasha's uniform betrayed her as she was pinned to the ground by her very knives. She struggled, but Magneto's power held them firmly in place. Beside her, Clint wasn't moving after Cap's shield nearly crushed him.

Thor swung Mjölnir and called down a bolt of lightning, Captain America tried to shout a warning but Magneto was already grinning. He redirected the lightning towards the two Avengers, who barely had time to react. The bolt hit the ground beside them, blasting the two with rock and the residual energy of Thor's attack.

Magneto raised his other arm and caught Tony in his grip. Somewhere in the distance they heard a roar.

Hulk.

Tony silently breathed a sigh of relief, there was no metal on the Hulk for Magneto to exploit.

The Hulk charged toward Magneto, rage written across his face for his fallen friends. Magneto waved his hands and a chain wrapped itself around the green beast's body, with Mjölnir at the other end.

"Bruce! Just stop trying to pick it up! Break the chain!" Tony yelled at the Hulks attempts to lift the magical hammer off the ground.

Tony's outburst caused Magneto to turn his attention back to the man in the armor. He readied his repulsors and fired.

Erik deflected the attack with his shield and clenched his fist. Tony's armor started to cave in on the man inside it. Gasping, Tony fought the magnetic pull with his thrusters, but it was a losing battle. Magneto was way too powerful.

"Jarvis!"

Tony's suit had stopped functioning and he felt a couple bones break as Magneto continued is onslaught. Gritting his teeth, Tony pictured one person in his mind: Loki.

_Well, it looks like I'll be going first after all, _Tony grimaced.

His vision went dark as he felt more of his limbs being crushed under the mutant's magnetic powers. This is how it was all going to end? At the hands of this man? Tony screamed as his legs broke and were flattened. He didn't know how much more he could take before he passed out.

The pain stopped. Tony wondered if his brain had simply stopped working all together. He tried opening his eyes only to be met with his lover's face.

_Loki!_

Loki lifted his hands off Tony's chest and inspected his work. He smiled slightly when he could sense that Tony's bones had been mended. When he was satisfied he stood to his full height. Magneto narrowed his eyes at the intruder.

"I thought he was the last Avenger," Magneto spat.

Loki tilted his head to the side a bit. "Wrong. _I_ am."

He launched himself at Magneto who only laughed as Loki was struck by lightning. The mutant smiled as Dr. Doom floated to the ground. Loki painfully regained his footing and cursed his luck. Of all the people he wanted to see, Doom was _not_ one of them.

So this is what that villain had been planning, using Magneto to distract the majority of the Avengers, before Doom swoops in and has his revenge. But it seemed that Doom didn't share his entire plan even with the ones he called allies, because Erik seemed genuinely surprised to see the other man.

Calling upon his failing magic, Loki analyzed his foes. He hurled a stream of fire at Doom, hitting the man in the chest. Magneto immediately covered, trying to use Loki's armor against him. The Trickster smirked. His armor was far superior to Thor's, his magic rendered Magneto's powers useless.

Loki struck out at Doom again, pushing him further away from Magneto. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Magneto flying towards him. The god kicked Doom away and flew up to meet his adversary head on.

Literally.

The Trickster's helmet crashed into Magneto's causing the tiny horns on it to crack and fall to the ground in pieces. Just for good measure, Loki head butted the mutant again knocking him down. He spun around and kicked Magneto in the face and drew his spear. Using his gained momentum he hurled his weapon at Doom.

The spear sailed through the air and caught the doctor in the stomach, impaling him. Magneto looked on in shock as Doom started to bleed out in front of him. Pulling the Casket of Ancient Winters out of its hiding space, Loki used its magic to freeze Magneto solid. He looked over to Doom with no sympathy in his eyes. SHELD could have these two if they were still alive by the time they got here.

He stored the Casket back to its resting place, wincing as the constant use of his magic started to take its toll, and strode over to Thor and Steve. Using his magic he healed the two Avengers of their injuries that Mjölnir had inflicted. Moving onto Black Widow, he removed the weapons from her limbs while he healed her. Clint had a few more injuries from Captain America's shield. All he had to do was sever the chain keeping the Hulk and Mjölnir together and Bruce shifted back to his human form.

Loki surveyed the team for anymore injuries before slowly walking back over to Tony, who sat up.

"You idiot!" Tony shouted. "That stunt will probably kill you faster!"

The god sank to his knees, he was breathing heavily. "You were dying," he said simply.

Tony cradled his boyfriend in his arms and kissed him. "How did you even get out of bed? You could hardly move before!"

Loki's eyes were unfocused as he tried to identify exactly _which_ Tony was asking him the question.

"Tony," Cap said after he re-checked the team. "We need to get him back to the tower, now."

Tony nodded. "Hear that Reindeer Games? You're in good hands."

That was the last thing Loki heard before he passed out.

* * *

**December 24****th**

Loki had been unconscious for the past two days, and Tony was having a conniption. Every other minute he would check the machines to make sure they were correct, and in working order. Eventually, Cap had to drag the man out of the room, just so he could stuff some food down his throat.

The rest of the tower was getting ready for a Christmas Eve party, that none were too happy about anymore. Tony was half-heartedly helping with food and decorations, when he received a call from Bruce. He rushed down to the medical ward and accidently slammed the door open in his haste.

He looked pale, and exhausted, but besides that, Loki was smiling.

"Merry Christmas," he greeted.

Tony smiled. "Not till tomorrow there, Rudolf."

"My apologizes, I am not accustomed to Midgardian holidays."

"Don't worry," Tony leaned in close. "I'll show you."

During the party, Loki mostly sat on the couch, watching the others. It's not that he didn't want to join in, but he was barely keeping his eyes open as it was. He clenched his glass, as a spasm hit. It lasted only a minute, but it left him feeling drained. In that battle with Magneto, he knew full well that he had shortened his time from May to probably January at the most. It was mostly sheer willpower that he was still conscious, his body was ready to call it quits, but Loki willed himself to be here, for Tony.

Loki sighed. He had been sleeping when he heard Tony's voice calling to him. Against all better judgment, he had rushed into that battle almost knowing he wouldn't survive.

And he was okay with that.

When he had seen Tony lying on the ground, his suit a mess, his brain had switched to auto-pilot. All that mattered in that instance was Tony's safety. In a way he had shown that he was every bit the warrior that Thor was. He wanted to give Tony the Christmas that he had been looking forward to, and there was no way that Magneto or Doom was going to ruin that.

"Hey, Lokes!" Tony called. "We're doing presents!"

Standing slowly, Loki managed to walk over to where the others were gathered. It seemed like Clint, Thor, and Darcy had found the eggnog and was already on their third glass each.

"Here," Tony said and placed a clearly hand wrapped gift into the god's hands.

"Tony," Loki said, unsure. "I only have one gift for you. I did not know that it was customary to exchange on both the eve and day of Christmas."

Tony shrugged. "Nah, it's fine. Here, open it!"

Loki tugged at the bow and peeled the paper away. In the box was a ring with what looked like a mini-arc reactor in place of a gem.

"See," Tony said, slipping it on Loki's slender finger. "Now, you will always have my heart."

The god couldn't get his mouth to work.

"Tony- I don't know what- I mean- it's really-"

"Do you like it?"

Loki looked at him like the man was an idiot. "Of course I do!"

"That's all I need to hear," Tony replied and kissed him.

Clint made gagging noises. "It's like watching your parents make out!" he shouted. "Hey! Where'd my drink go? Hello?!"

"Ignore him," Natasha mumbled.

Loki turned back to Tony. "I have yours, but you have to wait until tomorrow morning."

The engineer stuck his lower lip out. "Okay, fine."

Clint was stumbling around asking people if they took his glass. While Steve tried to tell him that he had drank all of his beverage, the archer wasn't having any of it. He jumped on top of the refrigerator to try and find a better view to find his elusive drink. Hawkeye cupped his hands around his eyes to simulate binoculars, until Tasha dragged him down by his ear.

"Eggnog?" Tony asked the god while holding out a glass.

Loki sniffed the strange substance, and instantly his stomach tied itself up in knots. "No," he almost gagged. "I'm fine."

Tony shrugged. "I'll give you a better kind of drink when you're feeling better. Deal?"

"Deal," Loki smiled.

* * *

It was about two in the morning when the Avengers had decided to call it a night. Most of the floor was a mess, and Tony had said he'd clean it tomorrow. Actually, Jarvis would clean it, he would be opening gifts.

The team bid each other goodnight as most of them headed off to bed. Well, Natasha had to drag Clint, and Thor carried Darcy. Reminder, never let those two ever drink with one another again. Ever.

As soon as Tony had climbed into bed, he curled his arms around Loki's torso and pulled him closer. The god winced a bit, but didn't let the other man see it. Tony pressed his face into the back of Loki's neck and sighed.

"Merry Christmas, it's official now."

Loki made a satisfied noise. "Is it? Well, Merry Christmas then, Tony."

Tony nodded and his eye lids drooped closed, in a minute he was snoring lightly into Loki's back.

For the god, sleep came much harder. Since around midnight his body had been in constant pain, and it was becoming worrisome. He had wanted to mention something to Tony, but he did not want to spoil the fun that everyone was having. After all, a few days ago they had almost died at the hand s of the most powerful mutant alive.

Loki knew what was happening, he had been preparing since the first day he learned of his fate.

The god stayed awake, watching Tony sleep beside him. For some reason, Loki could not bring himself to mimic the human. Loki supposed that deep down, he knew that if he closed his eyes, he would never see Tony again. He grimaced as the pain grew worse, to the point where he could barely move any part of his body without causing a spasm.

Small streams of sunlight floated into the large master bedroom as the sun made its appearance on the horizon a few hours later. Loki's head slowly lifted to take in the rays, before looking wearily on the man's face next to him.

Tony was breathing softly, his hair messed up, and a little drool on his lips. The God of Mischief smiled, the man was perfect to him.

With great difficulty, he pressed a kiss to the engineer's forehead.

"I love you."

* * *

Tony awoke the next morning with a slight headache from drinking the damn eggnog. Dammit, Clint! He rolled over to wake up the sleeping god next to him, so he could give him his last gift. Tony gently shook Loki's shoulder and waited.

Nothing.

Tony tried again, this time with a little more force.

Still nothing.

"Loki?" Tony said, his voice steadily becoming more panicked. "Loki! This isn't funny, c'mon!"

He rolled the raven haired man over onto his back. Loki looked completely at peace, his face was calm without the lines of constant pain and agony that he dealt with every day. Tony's eyes watered, as he shook him again.

"Loki, please," Tony pleaded. "Please wake up. Loki!"

_Please wake up! Don't tell me you wasted your energy on me!_

The genius could almost hear Loki's reply: _"I did it for the team, Tony. I had to, please understand."_

He expected at any moment for Loki's emerald eyes to shoot open and laugh at him for being so easily tricked, but the god's face remained still. Tony clenched his fists and beat them into his pillow over and over. When he looked up he noticed something on the night stand by Loki's head.

Tony reached over and grasped a small object covered in brown paper.

The label said: To: Tony

Stark quickly unwrapped the package and a glass container about four inches tall dropped into his hands. It was a small rectangle filled with some sort of solution. A beautiful heart made out of ice, with a tiny, green flame inside it, floated in the liquid.

The base read: _Now you have my heart too, may it always burn. Love, Loki._

A long few seconds ticked by before Tony realized where he was again. He grasped the glass prism in his hand as if it would somehow bring Loki back. A small piece of paper floated to the ground, and Tony snatched it up.

There was only one sentence written on it: _Thank you, Tony, for everything_.

Tony had always thought they had enough time. He smoothed Loki's long, black hair one last time and hugged the man close, before he let his tears flow freely down his face. He never imagined he'd outlive a god.

* * *

_Here I am waiting, I'll have to leave soon  
Why am I, holding on?  
We knew this day would come, we knew it all along  
How did it, come so fast?  
This is our last night but it's late  
And I'm trying not to sleep  
Cause I know, when I wake, I will have to slip away_

And when the daylight comes I'll have to go  
But tonight I'm gonna hold you so close  
Cause in the daylight we'll be on our own  
But tonight I need to hold you so close

_Maroon 5_

* * *

There will be an epilogue, with an ending that will hopefully satisfy you. Here's hoping. Please don't hurt me!

Anyway, I would have had this up earlier, but my uncle is very sick, and they don't expect him to last much longer with the way he's going. The only thing we can do is wait.

Nicholls


	16. Epilogue

kitkatthevampirelover92: Thank you. I hope you like this ending.

midnight6277: Here, have a tissue! And thank you very much.

GothChiq80: Thank you very much, I'm glad that you like it!

Doyle0915: Don't cry!

hyper active pixie: Don't worry!

.Executioner: Thank you, and I will.

Gold Violet Eyes: Awww, I'm blushing!

UnifiedNations: I'm sorry I made you cry! Thank you for the hug.

Guest: I'm glad it didn't make you angry. And thank you.

Whitegulls: It will, I promise!

Memory Wolf: Thanks! I hope you like this last part!

Aruyn: I try to make all my stories end happily.

2013: Umm, it's not done yet, I think I said that in the last chapter.

ELOSHAZZY: Thanks so much! And you are right, they are never really gone.

tinyBrocks: Not over yet, my friend.

* * *

**Epilogue **

_One year and Six Days Later…_

Tony stood out on one of his many balconies, overlooking the city. Even though it was about thirty degrees out, he still insisted on being out in the cold. Everyone thought he was being stupid, but the bitter winds comforted him.

It reminded him of Loki.

One of the things he loved about the Norse god was that he was always a little cooler than the normal human being. Ever since the arc reactor incident in the cave, his body felt a few degrees warmer than it should be. Tony had just passed it off as being the fault of the piece of technology that now called his chest cavity home.

Downstairs the team was watching the ball drop on television, because no one dared go outside in the enormous crowd. Thor had wanted to, but Natasha had convinced him that people could get a little weird around New Year's Eve, and that it was best to stay indoors where they were safe.

Sighing, Tony swirled his drink around, staring into its amber depths. The color reminded him of Asgard, the morning of the funeral.

The ceremony had been a small, private one, as Tony had requested. He knew that Loki did not want a large, flashy send off. He listened as one by one each member of the team said a few words in regards to their fallen friend. When it was Tony's turn to speak, he opened his mouth, but no words came out.

He ran past the small group and ended out on the rainbow bridge, overlooking the swirling waters that lead to a giant wormhole in space. Tony wondered if he was standing in the same spot where Loki had fallen to Earth over two years ago. He smiled a bit, remembering that he had almost ran the God of Mischief over with his car. Now he was thankful that he had taken that ride that night to clear his head.

If he hadn't gone out that night, he would have never met him.

Him.

He still had difficulty saying the god's name without breaking down.

After the ceremony, he felt Steve's hand on his shoulder, silently begging him to step away from the edge of the bridge, and to rejoin the group. Tony complied and joined his friends to make their journey back home.

Thor had said that he was going to stay in Asgard for a little while to take care of matters. The team had wished him luck and went over to Heimdall so he could transport them home.

Tony drained the rest of his drink and walked back inside. Sliding the door closed, he sat at his bar and poured another glass.

"I'll take that drink now, if you don't mind."

Whirling around, Tony reached for his homing bracelets, bracing himself for a fight. Only when he turned around, he wasn't met with an enemy at all.

"Loki," he breathed, his eyes wide. "How?"

The God of Mischief stood in front of him, dressed in a simple black suit, with a green scarf draped casually over his thin shoulders. He looked one hundred times better than he did the last time Tony had laid eyes on him. Loki smiled.

"My daughter," he said. "You remember Hel, correct?"

Tony nodded.

"Well, it seemed that she decided to resurrect me. She was quite taken with you, I imagine. Hel also apologizes for the time it took her. Apparently returning a god back to the world of the living is a far more difficult feat than it would be for say, a human." Loki finished and stepped closer to the gawking engineer.

"Well I should send her flowers or something," Tony said placed his hand on Loki's chest. "Are you…"

"I'm healed, yes, Tony," Loki softly replied.

Just hearing Loki say his name again made Tony so happy.

Downstairs he could hear the shouts of celebration as the ball dropped in Time Square, signaling that a new year had been rung in. Glancing outside, Tony could see the confetti flying around the crowds of people.

When he looked back, he almost expected Loki to be gone. Figments of your imagination tend to that to you. Only, Loki was still standing there looking as beautiful as the first time he saw him, even lying on the ground after falling from the sky.

Deciding that enough time had been wasted already, Tony grabbed the taller man by his scarf and pulled him forward into a long overdue kiss.

"Happy New Year," Tony breathed heavily, after breaking contact. "Don't ever do that to me again."

Loki's mouth broke into a smile. "As you wish."

Tony grimaced. "No, no, no, I hate that movie."

Loki widened his eyes in shock. "How can you say that? It's a classic!"

"You don't even know what a classic movie is," Iron Man muttered.

The god chuckled lightly. It was true, he was only repeating what the other Avengers had said about the _Princess Bride_. He just assumed what they were telling him was fact.

"But in all seriousness," Tony's face went still. "I looked all over the universe for signs of a being strong enough to beat you, and I came up empty handed. Where is he?"

Loki shook his head. "You won't find him, I can't even locate him. It is best to leave it be."

But Tony was not convinced on the matter. "Well, I'm gonna find him, he needs to pay."

"All right, later," Loki sighed. "Should I say hello to the rest of the team now?"

"First we have some unfinished business," Tony said, gently clasped the god's hands in his, and led him slowly up the stairs.

Loki smirked. "Oh, do we?"

The engineer pulled the taller man closer, their noses almost touching. Tony could fell Loki's warm breath on his forehead, and he smiled for the first time in over a year.

"You are mine for the night."

Leaning down, Loki captured the billionaire's lips in his with all the care that was shown to him by that same man. He owes everything to one human being, everything. Looking into Tony's eyes, the god knows that everything can and will be all right. He knows where his home is.

"Forever and always, I'm yours."

"_Death - the last sleep? No, it is the final awakening."_ - Walter Scott

* * *

There it is folks! Hope you enjoyed it.


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